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Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a memoir next month called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his experience served in jail.

This news was made just 11 days following Sarkozy gained freedom while he appeals the court ruling related to illegal collaboration in a case to secure presidential race money from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Prison Experience: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he writes in a preview, implying the book centers around his reflections while in isolation instead of wider commentary regarding the strained and troubled jail system in France.

“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where there is endless commotion,” he continues. “The din is alas constant. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world is strengthened behind bars.”

Freedom Plea: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy was present remotely from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He had told the court: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this ordeal manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It has an impact all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state for a five-year term, became the inaugural ex-leader of an EU country and the first postwar leader from France to be incarcerated.

Prior to imprisonment he had said he would use his time to write a book.

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to review and analyze the volumes he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, in which an innocent man is imprisoned then breaks out to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

The former leader was placed in isolation for his own security in a room of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in Paris. Guards stayed in a neighbouring cell.

It was stated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks in prison due to concerns prison cuisine could have been tampered with. Although he had access to cook for himself but refused this, according to reports. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings his safety would improve outside jail rather than in custody. “He received death threats, listened to yells after dark and emergency responses next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison in late October after the judiciary imposed a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to obtain election financing during his election campaign.

He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial is scheduled for early next year.