🔗 Share this article

The ex-president of France plans a personal account next month called Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time spent behind bars.

The announcement came shortly after the former president was released as he appeals the guilty verdict on charges of unlawful coordination regarding a scheme to secure political financing from the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“In prison one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he notes in a preview, indicating the book centers around his reflections from seclusion rather than wider commentary on the strained and struggling jail system in France.

“Quiet is absent, not present in that facility, where there is constant sound,” he continues. “The noise is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life is strengthened in prison.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, he participated remotely from his cell, describing his time inside as exhausting. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, easing this difficult experience bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It has an impact all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president from the EU and the initial post-WWII figure of France to serve time in prison.

Prior to imprisonment he mentioned he planned to utilize the opportunity to write a book.

Books in Prison

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to review and analyze the three books he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, in which a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail then breaks out to exact retribution.

Daily Reality

He was held in isolation to protect him in a cell roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail located in the capital. Security personnel occupied the next cell.

It was stated that he consumed only yoghurts during his stay due to concerns prison cuisine might have been spat on. Options were available for self-catering but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Defense Viewpoint

His attorney, Christophe Ingrain daily during the incarceration, told the release hearing his safety would improve outside jail than inside. “He received threats against his life, listened to yells during nighttime plus rapid actions next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began last month when the judiciary gave him a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to obtain political donations for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges challenging the decision, and another court case planned for next spring.