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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a personal account next month called Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period endured in jail.

The revelation emerged less than two weeks following the ex-leader gained freedom as he appeals the court ruling for illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to secure political financing from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars one sees little, and nothing to do,” he reflects in an extract, implying the book centers around his reflections during isolation as opposed to a broader observation of the overcrowded and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing at the prison, where there is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The din persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection is fortified behind bars.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

During his plea for freedom, the former leader was present via screen from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this difficult experience manageable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

The former president, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, was the first past president in the European Union and the first postwar leader from France to serve time in prison.

Before entering jail he had said he would use his time to write a book.

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the three books he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas the classic tale, in which a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated then breaks out to seek vengeance.

Daily Reality

The former leader remained in isolation for his own security in a room of about nine sq metres including private facilities at La Santé prison located in the capital. Security personnel occupied a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he consumed solely dairy snacks while inside because he feared meals provided could have been tampered with. Options were available to prepare his own meals but refused this, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Defense Viewpoint

His attorney, Christophe Ingrain every day while he was in prison, informed the court security would be better released rather than in custody. “There were death threats, listened to yells at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison in late October after a French court gave him a half-decade term for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to secure campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial set for early next year.