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The ex-president of France will soon publish a memoir next month called Diary of a Prisoner, detailing his time endured in jail.

The announcement came shortly after Sarkozy gained freedom while his appeal proceeds his conviction related to criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to obtain political financing from the regime of former Libyan leader.

Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he writes in a preview, suggesting the account is more about his reflections while in solitary confinement as opposed to extensive analysis on the strained and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where one hears endless commotion,” he continues. “The racket is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life is strengthened in prison.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

While appealing for release, Sarkozy was present remotely from his cell, describing his time inside as exhausting. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, showing great humanity, easing this ordeal tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It affects one all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

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

Before entering jail he declared he would use his time to compose an account.

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the volumes he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books together with Dumas’s work the famous story, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated but escapes to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

The former leader was placed secluded to protect him in a cell of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in the city. Two bodyguards occupied a neighbouring cell.

It was stated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks during his stay worried that meals provided may have been contaminated. Although he had access for self-catering but refused this, according to reports. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.

Legal Perspective

The legal representative, who visited his client every day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing he would be safer out of prison rather than in custody. “He has faced menacing messages, has heard screaming during nighttime and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October after a French court gave him a half-decade term on conspiracy charges related to a plan to obtain campaign funds during his election campaign.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, and another court case is scheduled for the coming spring.