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The ex-president of France is preparing a memoir this autumn called A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling his time served in jail.

The announcement came shortly following Sarkozy left prison as he appeals the guilty verdict related to unlawful coordination connected to efforts to obtain political financing from the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“In prison there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he writes in an extract, indicating the memoir will focus on his musings during seclusion as opposed to wider commentary regarding the strained and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“I forget silence, which is missing at the prison, where one hears constant sound,” he continues. “The noise persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world grows stronger in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Sharing the Struggle

While appealing for release, he had appeared by video link from inside the facility, depicting prison life as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this difficult experience manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state for a five-year term, set a precedent as former head from the EU and the first leader since WWII from France to serve time in prison.

Before entering jail he mentioned he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the three books he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a blameless person ends up incarcerated but escapes to take revenge.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was placed in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a room approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in the city. Security personnel occupied a neighbouring cell.

Sources mentioned that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay because he feared meals provided could have been tampered with. He had facilities for self-catering but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if he will detail what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings his safety would improve released rather than in custody. “He received death threats, has heard screaming after dark plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

His incarceration began on 21 October when the judiciary gave him a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to secure campaign funds during his election campaign.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial is scheduled for early next year.