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The ex-president of France is preparing a book this autumn named A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his time endured in custody.

This news came just 11 days following the former president was released while he contests the court ruling for criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to secure presidential race money linked to the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he writes in one passage, indicating the book will focus on his thoughts from solitary confinement rather than wider commentary regarding the overcrowded and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where there is endless commotion,” he adds. “The din unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, inner life is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, he was present via screen from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It affects one every inmate as it’s exhausting.”

Historical Context

The former president, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, was the first ex-leader of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to experience jail.

Before entering jail he declared he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to read and critique the three books he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, in which a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail later flees to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

He remained secluded due to safety concerns in a cell roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Two bodyguards occupied an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned that he had eaten solely dairy snacks in prison due to concerns meals provided could have been tampered with. Options were available to cook for himself but refused this, according to reports. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, told the release hearing security would be better out of prison than inside. “He received death threats, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Charges and Sentence

He entered custody last month following a French court imposed a half-decade term for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to secure election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and another court case planned for early next year.