🔗 Share this article The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Detailing Three Weeks Incarcerated Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a book next month named Diary of a Prisoner, detailing the period served behind bars. The announcement emerged less than two weeks after the ex-leader left prison while he contests the guilty verdict for criminal conspiracy in a case to secure election campaign funds from the regime of the late Libyan dictator. Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings “In prison visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he reflects in a preview, suggesting the account centers around his musings from solitary confinement rather than extensive analysis on the overcrowded and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country. “Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where noise is constant sound,” he states. “The noise persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world grows stronger behind bars.” Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal While appealing for release, Sarkozy participated remotely from a room in prison, depicting prison life as gruelling. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience manageable – because it is a nightmare.” “I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner due to its intensity.” Historical Context The former president, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural former head of an EU country and the first leader since WWII of France to experience jail. Ahead of his incarceration he had said he intended to spend the period to write a book. Cell Library It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to go through the texts he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail later flees to exact retribution. Prison Conditions Sarkozy was placed in isolation for his own security in a room of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Guards were stationed in an adjacent room. It was stated his diet consisted solely dairy snacks while inside because he feared meals provided might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself yet he declined, according to reports. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices. Defense Viewpoint Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client daily during the incarceration, told the release hearing security would be better released than inside. “He received menacing messages, listened to yells at night plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.” Legal Proceedings He entered custody in late October following a French court imposed a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to acquire campaign funds during his election campaign. He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and another court case set for next spring.