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The ex-president of France is preparing a memoir in the coming weeks called A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts the period served in custody.

The revelation was made just 11 days following the ex-leader left prison as he contests his conviction related to illegal collaboration in a case to obtain political financing from the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Prison Experience: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in a preview, indicating the book is more about his thoughts from isolation rather than extensive analysis on the strained and troubled jail system in France.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing in that facility, where there is constant sound,” he continues. “The racket unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world is fortified while incarcerated.”

Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, the former leader was present remotely from his cell, depicting prison life as exhausting. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this nightmare bearable – as it truly is one.”

“I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It affects one all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

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

Before entering jail he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity to write a book.

Reading Material

It remains unclear whether he had time to review and analyze the texts he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, a plot where a blameless person ends up incarcerated later flees to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

The former leader was placed in solitary confinement to protect him in a cell of about nine sq metres including private facilities at the correctional facility in Paris. Security personnel were stationed in an adjacent room.

Reports indicated his diet consisted only yoghurts in prison due to concerns prison cuisine could have been tampered with. Options were available to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if he will detail what he ate in prison.

Defense Viewpoint

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain daily during the incarceration, informed the court security would be better out of prison rather than in custody. “He has faced menacing messages, listened to yells during nighttime and emergency responses next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Charges and Sentence

His incarceration began last month after the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to secure election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and another court case set for next spring.