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The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account in the coming weeks named A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his experience endured in jail.

The revelation was made less than two weeks following the former president gained freedom as he contests his conviction for unlawful coordination in a case to secure presidential race money linked to the government of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“In prison visibility is limited, with little to occupy time,” he writes in an extract, suggesting the book will focus on his musings from isolation rather than extensive analysis on the packed and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where one hears constant sound,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection grows stronger while incarcerated.”

Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle

While appealing for release, he had appeared by video link from a room in prison, depicting prison life as gruelling. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this difficult experience tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It has an impact on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”

Historical Context

He, the ex-head of state for a five-year term, set a precedent as past president in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to be incarcerated.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he intended to spend the period to write a book.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to read and critique the three books he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work the famous story, a plot where an innocent man ends up incarcerated but escapes to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

The former leader was placed in solitary confinement to protect him in a space approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail located in the capital. Two bodyguards stayed in a neighbouring cell.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted only yoghurts during his stay due to concerns any food may have been contaminated. Options were available for self-catering but refused this, according to reports. Not known is if he will detail what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, Christophe Ingrain each day while he was in prison, informed the court his safety would improve released compared to inside. “He received death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began in late October after a French court sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, and a fresh trial is scheduled for next spring.