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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir next month titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time endured behind bars.

The revelation was made less than two weeks after Sarkozy gained freedom while his appeal proceeds his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire election campaign funds linked to the regime of former Libyan leader.

Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he reflects in a preview, indicating the account is more about his musings from seclusion instead of extensive analysis of the strained and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“I forget silence, not present in La Santé, where there is constant sound,” he adds. “The racket unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, the former leader had appeared remotely from his cell, depicting prison life as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this difficult experience tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I never imagined at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It affects one all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

Unprecedented Situation

He, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural past president in the European Union and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to experience jail.

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

Reading Material

It remains unclear whether he had time to read and critique the volumes he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, where a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

Sarkozy was held in solitary confinement to protect him in a space approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison in the city. Security personnel stayed in an adjacent room.

Reports indicated his diet consisted solely dairy snacks while inside due to concerns meals provided might have been spat on. He had facilities for self-catering but he turned this down, as per accounts. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

The legal representative, who saw him regularly each day during the incarceration, told the release hearing he would be safer out of prison than inside. “He received threats against his life, listened to yells at night and emergency responses in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

He entered custody in late October when the judiciary sentenced him to a half-decade term for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to acquire campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, and a fresh trial is scheduled for next spring.