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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir in the coming weeks titled A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling his time endured behind bars.

The revelation emerged just 11 days following Sarkozy was released while his appeal proceeds the court ruling for illegal collaboration connected to efforts to acquire presidential race money linked to the regime of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts

“In prison there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in an extract, implying the account will focus on his reflections during seclusion rather than a broader observation of the packed and troubled jail system in France.

“I forget silence, which is missing in that facility, where noise is constant sound,” he adds. “The noise is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life is fortified while incarcerated.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy participated by video link from his cell, describing his time inside as draining. He expressed in court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, easing this nightmare manageable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It affects one every inmate as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

Sarkozy, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure of France to experience jail.

Before entering jail he mentioned he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Cell Library

It is not certain if he found the opportunity to read and critique the three books he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, where an innocent man is imprisoned then breaks out to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy was placed in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a cell of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Security personnel were stationed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned that he had eaten only yoghurts during his stay due to concerns prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Options were available to cook for himself but refused this, as per accounts. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain daily throughout the jail term, told the release hearing security would be better out of prison than inside. “He has faced death threats, heard shouts after dark plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

He entered custody on 21 October when a Paris court imposed a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration related to a plan to obtain election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, and another court case set for the coming spring.