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Nicolas Sarkozy plans a memoir this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his experience served in jail.

The revelation was made less than two weeks after Sarkozy gained freedom as he contests the court ruling on charges of illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to secure presidential race money provided by the regime of former Libyan leader.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Inside jail one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he writes in a preview, indicating the memoir is more about his reflections from solitary confinement rather than wider commentary regarding the packed and struggling correctional facilities in the country.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing at the prison, where there is constant sound,” he adds. “The noise persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is fortified while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, he had appeared via screen from inside the facility, describing his time inside as draining. He expressed in court: “I wish to commend the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It affects one every inmate as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure of France to experience jail.

Before entering jail he had said he intended to spend the period to write a book.

Books in Prison

It is not certain if he found the opportunity to read and critique the texts he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, in which a blameless person is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

The former leader was placed in solitary confinement to protect him in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison in the city. Security personnel were stationed in the next cell.

Reports indicated his diet consisted only yoghurts in prison due to concerns prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Although he had access to prepare his own meals but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Legal Perspective

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain every day while he was in prison, told the release hearing security would be better released rather than in custody. “He received death threats, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Legal Proceedings

He entered custody last month following the judiciary gave him a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges over a scheme to secure political donations for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial is scheduled for the coming spring.