Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will release a new book next month recounting his recent time behind bars, his publisher Fayard announced on Friday.

The book, ‘Diary of a Prisoner’, will be released on 10 December and is already available for pre-order.

It recounts the three weeks Nicolas Sarkozy spent in La Santé prison this autumn, after he was ordered to serve time for criminal conspiracy linked to alleged Libyan funding of his 2007 presidential campaign. He was convicted on 25 September, began his sentence on 21 October, and was freed on 10 November pending appeal.

Sarkozy, 70, announced the publication on X, sharing an excerpt that reflects on the sensory strain and introspection of prison life. “In prison, there is nothing to see and nothing to do… The noise is, unfortunately, constant. But, as in the desert, inner life grows stronger,” he wrote.

While he was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, Sarkozy was acquitted of related corruption and illegal campaign financing charges. His appeal is scheduled to run from 16 March to 3 June, and his temporary release gives no indication of the eventual outcome.

The publication comes at a delicate moment for the former president, who governed France from 2007 to 2012 and remains a divisive figure. The book is being released by Fayard, part of a media group owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré.

Copied