🔗 Share this article The Former French President to Pen Prison Memoir Detailing His 20 Days Incarcerated The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account in the coming weeks named A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his time spent in custody. The announcement was made shortly following the ex-leader gained freedom as he contests his conviction for unlawful coordination regarding a scheme to acquire election campaign funds linked to the government of former Libyan leader. Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings “Inside jail there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he notes in an extract, suggesting the memoir centers around his thoughts during isolation as opposed to wider commentary of the strained and troubled French prison system. “Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where there is endless commotion,” he states. “The noise unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world is strengthened behind bars.” Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship During his plea for freedom, he was present by video link from inside the facility, depicting prison life as exhausting. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this nightmare tolerable – because it is a nightmare.” “It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It has an impact every inmate due to its intensity.” First of Its Kind Sarkozy, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader of an EU country and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to be incarcerated. Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he intended to spend the period to write a book. Books in Prison Unconfirmed is did he manage to go through the three books he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, a plot where a blameless person ends up incarcerated later flees to exact retribution. Prison Conditions Sarkozy remained secluded for his own security in a space approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in the city. Guards stayed in a neighbouring cell. Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt while inside due to concerns any food may have been contaminated. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, according to reports. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison. Defense Viewpoint His attorney, who saw him regularly daily during the incarceration, stated during proceedings he would be safer outside jail than inside. “There were death threats, heard shouts at night and emergency responses in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.” Case Background He entered custody on 21 October when a French court imposed five years in prison for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to secure political donations during his election campaign. He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and another court case is scheduled for early next year.