š Share this article The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Detailing His 20 Days In Custody The ex-president of France is preparing a memoir in the coming weeks named Diary of a Prisoner, detailing his time endured in jail. The announcement came just 11 days after the ex-leader gained freedom while he contests the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration connected to efforts to acquire election campaign funds from the leadership of former Libyan leader. Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections āIn prison visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,ā he notes in one passage, implying the account centers around his reflections from seclusion rather than extensive analysis of the overcrowded and struggling jail system in France. āI forget silence, not present in that facility, where there is constant sound,ā he adds. āThe din persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is strengthened behind bars.ā Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship At his release request hearing, the former leader participated remotely from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He stated to the judge: āI must acknowledge those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who have made this ordeal tolerable ā because it is a nightmare.ā āI never imagined at this stage of life, Iād be in prison. Itās a hardship forced upon me. I admit itās difficult, deeply straining. It affects one every inmate because itās gruelling.ā First of Its Kind The former president, who served as Franceās president from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as ex-leader in the European Union and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to serve time in prison. Prior to imprisonment he declared he planned to utilize the opportunity to compose an account. Books in Prison 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 Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail then breaks out to seek vengeance. Daily Reality The former leader remained in isolation for his own security in a cell of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La SantĆ© prison in Paris. Security personnel were stationed in a neighbouring cell. Sources mentioned that he had eaten solely dairy snacks during his stay worried that meals provided might have been spat on. Although he had access to cook for himself but refused this, as per accounts. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices. Legal Perspective Sarkozyās lawyer, who visited his client daily while he was in prison, informed the court he would be safer out of prison than inside. āThere were menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime plus rapid actions next door when a prisoner self-harmed.ā Charges and Sentence His incarceration began on 21 October following a French court sentenced him to a half-decade term for illegal collaboration over a scheme to acquire campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race. He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, with a new trial is scheduled for next spring.