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The ex-president of France is preparing a memoir next month titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period served behind bars.

The announcement emerged shortly after the ex-leader gained freedom while his appeal proceeds the court ruling on charges of unlawful coordination connected to efforts to obtain political financing provided by the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he reflects in an extract, implying the memoir is more about his musings while in solitary confinement as opposed to wider commentary regarding the overcrowded and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where one hears constant sound,” he continues. “The din is alas constant. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world is strengthened behind bars.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

While appealing for release, the former leader participated via screen from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this difficult experience tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It affects one all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

He, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president of an EU country and the first postwar leader of France to serve time in prison.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Cell Library

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the texts he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, in which a blameless person ends up incarcerated then breaks out to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

He was placed in isolation due to safety concerns in a room approximately nine square meters including private facilities at the correctional facility in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in an adjacent room.

Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt while inside because he feared prison cuisine might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Legal Perspective

His attorney, who saw him regularly each day while he was in prison, informed the court he would be safer released rather than in custody. “He received death threats, listened to yells at night plus rapid actions next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Charges and Sentence

His incarceration began on 21 October when a French court gave him a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration related to a plan to acquire election financing for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, and a fresh trial set for next spring.