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The ex-president of France is preparing a memoir this autumn named Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time spent behind bars.

The announcement was made just 11 days following Sarkozy left prison as he contests the court ruling for unlawful coordination in a case to acquire political financing from the regime of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he notes in one passage, implying the account will focus on his thoughts while in solitary confinement rather than extensive analysis on the overcrowded and troubled jail system in France.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where noise is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The noise is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection grows stronger behind bars.”

Freedom Plea: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy was present by video link from a room in prison, depicting prison life as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It affects one all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural former head from the EU and the initial post-WWII figure from France to serve time in prison.

Prior to imprisonment he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Cell Library

It is not certain whether he had time to review and analyze the three books he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books together with Dumas’s work the famous story, where a blameless person is imprisoned later flees to seek vengeance.

Life in Confinement

The former leader was held in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail in Paris. Guards stayed in an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted solely dairy snacks in prison because he feared any food might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, as per accounts. Unclear remains if the memoir includes his dietary choices.

Defense Viewpoint

His attorney, who visited his client every day throughout the jail term, stated during proceedings security would be better outside jail than inside. “There were death threats, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Legal Proceedings

He entered custody last month after the judiciary imposed a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges over a scheme to secure election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial planned for early next year.