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The ex-president of France will soon publish a book this autumn titled Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his time served in custody.

The announcement was made shortly after Sarkozy was released while his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict for criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to acquire political financing provided by the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“In prison visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he writes in an extract, indicating the account is more about his reflections during isolation as opposed to a broader observation on the packed and struggling French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where there is a lot to hear,” he states. “The racket persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, he was present by video link from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience bearable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It leaves a mark all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

The former president, who led the nation for a five-year term, became the inaugural former head from the EU and the first leader since WWII from France to serve time in prison.

Before entering jail he mentioned he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Cell Library

It is not certain did he manage to review and analyze the texts he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, where an innocent man is sentenced to jail later flees to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy was held in isolation to protect him in a cell of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in Paris. Guards occupied the next cell.

It was stated that he consumed solely dairy snacks while inside due to concerns prison cuisine could have been tampered with. Although he had access to cook for himself but refused this, according to reports. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Legal Perspective

The legal representative, who saw him regularly each day while he was in prison, stated during proceedings his safety would improve outside jail rather than in custody. “There were menacing messages, has heard screaming at night and emergency responses next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison in late October after a French court imposed five years in prison on conspiracy charges related to a plan to obtain election financing for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial planned for early next year.