🔗 Share this article The Former French President Preparing to Release Jail Diary Documenting Two Dozen Days In Custody The ex-president of France will soon publish a memoir next month called A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling the period spent in jail. This news was made less than two weeks after the former president was released as his appeal proceeds the court ruling for illegal collaboration connected to efforts to secure election campaign funds provided by the leadership of the late Libyan dictator. Prison Experience: Personal Reflections “Inside jail visibility is limited, with little to occupy time,” he writes in an extract, implying the book will focus on his musings from isolation rather than a broader observation of the overcrowded and troubled French prison system. “I forget silence, which is missing in that facility, where one hears constant sound,” he adds. “The din unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world is strengthened in prison.” Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle While appealing for release, he participated by video link from his cell, describing his time inside as draining. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, showing great humanity, easing this difficult experience tolerable – because it is a nightmare.” “It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship I must endure. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.” First of Its Kind Sarkozy, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader of an EU country and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to serve time in prison. Before entering jail he declared he would use his time for authoring a memoir. Cell Library Unconfirmed is whether he had time to read and critique the volumes he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, where a blameless person is sentenced to jail later flees to exact retribution. Life in Confinement Sarkozy remained in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a cell of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in Paris. Security personnel stayed in a neighbouring cell. Sources mentioned that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay worried that any food might have been spat on. Options were available to prepare his own meals but refused this, according to reports. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison. Lawyer’s Statements Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain each day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing he would be safer outside jail than inside. “He has faced death threats, listened to yells after dark plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.” Legal Proceedings Sarkozy went to prison in late October after the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to secure campaign funds for his presidential bid. He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial planned for early next year.