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The ex-president of France plans a book this autumn called A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts his time endured in custody.

This news emerged shortly following the ex-leader was released while he contests the court ruling for criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain presidential race money provided by the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he writes in an extract, suggesting the book will focus on his reflections during solitary confinement as opposed to extensive analysis on the strained and troubled jail system in France.

“Quiet is absent, not present at the prison, where noise is constant sound,” he adds. “The racket unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, inner life grows stronger in prison.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

While appealing for release, Sarkozy participated by video link from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this nightmare tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It affects one all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, was the first past president from the EU and the first leader since WWII of France to experience jail.

Before entering jail he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity to write a book.

Reading Material

It remains unclear whether he had time to read and critique the three books he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a blameless person is imprisoned later flees to exact retribution.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was held secluded due to safety concerns in a room of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison in the city. Two bodyguards occupied the next cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt in prison because he feared prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Options were available to cook for himself but refused this, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain if he will detail meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, Christophe Ingrain each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings his safety would improve released than inside. “He received threats against his life, heard shouts after dark and the urgent intervention next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison in late October when a French court gave him a half-decade term on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to obtain campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, with a new trial is scheduled for the coming spring.