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The ex-president of France plans a book in the coming weeks named Notes from a Cell, which recounts his experience spent in jail.

The revelation emerged just 11 days following Sarkozy gained freedom while his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration in a case to obtain presidential race money provided by the regime of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he writes in one passage, suggesting the memoir centers around his thoughts from seclusion instead of a broader observation on the strained and struggling French prison system.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where noise is endless commotion,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection is fortified while incarcerated.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, he had appeared by video link from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, became the inaugural former head of an EU country and the first postwar leader of France to be incarcerated.

Before entering jail he had said he would use his time to compose an account.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the three books he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, where a blameless person is imprisoned but escapes to seek vengeance.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was placed in isolation due to safety concerns in a cell of about nine sq metres including private facilities at La Santé prison in Paris. Two bodyguards were stationed in the next cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt in prison because he feared meals provided might have been spat on. Although he had access for self-catering but refused this, according to reports. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, stated during proceedings security would be better outside jail rather than in custody. “He received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October following a French court imposed a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to obtain election financing during his election campaign.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, and a fresh trial planned for early next year.