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The ex-president of France plans a personal account in the coming weeks titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period endured in custody.

The announcement was made shortly after the ex-leader was released while he appeals the court ruling on charges of criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain election campaign funds provided by the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“In prison one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he writes in a preview, suggesting the memoir will focus on his musings while in isolation rather than extensive analysis of the packed and struggling French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, not present in that facility, where noise is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The racket is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is fortified behind bars.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, the former leader was present remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. 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 at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It leaves a mark all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, was the first past president from the EU and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to experience jail.

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

Books in Prison

It is not certain did he manage to read and critique the texts he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

The former leader remained in solitary confinement to protect him in a cell of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in Paris. Two bodyguards were stationed in the next cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks during his stay worried that meals provided may have been contaminated. He had facilities to cook for himself but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client daily while he was in prison, stated during proceedings his safety would improve released than inside. “There were menacing messages, heard shouts at night plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Case Background

He entered custody last month after a Paris court gave him five years in prison on conspiracy charges over a scheme to secure election financing for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial is scheduled for early next year.