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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir next month called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his time endured in jail.

The announcement came shortly following Sarkozy gained freedom as his appeal proceeds the court ruling for illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to obtain presidential race money from the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he notes in an extract, suggesting the account centers around his musings from isolation as opposed to extensive analysis regarding the overcrowded and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where there is endless commotion,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, the former leader participated via screen from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He had told the court: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, easing this nightmare bearable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It has an impact all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who led the nation for a five-year term, set a precedent as past president from the EU and the first leader since WWII from France to be incarcerated.

Before entering jail he mentioned he would use his time for authoring a memoir.

Cell Library

It is not certain did he manage to review and analyze the texts he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, where a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail then breaks out to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

The former leader remained secluded to protect him in a room approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at the correctional facility located in the capital. Security personnel stayed in a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he consumed just yogurt in prison due to concerns any food might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself but refused this, as per accounts. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain each day throughout the jail term, stated during proceedings his safety would improve out of prison rather than in custody. “There were threats against his life, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Case Background

His incarceration began in late October after a Paris court imposed a half-decade term on conspiracy charges over a scheme to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, and another court case planned for the coming spring.