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The ex-president of France plans a book in the coming weeks called Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his experience spent behind bars.

The revelation was made just 11 days following Sarkozy was released while he appeals the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to obtain political financing from the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in one passage, implying the book will focus on his musings while in isolation as opposed to wider commentary on the packed and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where there is constant sound,” he adds. “The racket unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life grows stronger while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, the former leader was present by video link from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, showing great humanity, and who have made this difficult experience tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It leaves a mark all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

He, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural past president in the European Union and the first leader since WWII from France to serve time in prison.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he would use his time to compose an account.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear whether he had time to read and critique the three books he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, a plot where an innocent man is imprisoned later flees to exact retribution.

Life in Confinement

He was held in isolation for his own security in a room roughly 100 square feet including private facilities in the Paris jail in Paris. Security personnel occupied the next cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay worried that prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Although he had access to cook for himself yet he declined, as per accounts. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly every day while he was in prison, told the release hearing his safety would improve out of prison than inside. “He received threats against his life, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October following a French court gave him five years in prison on conspiracy charges over a scheme to secure political donations for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and another court case planned for the coming spring.