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The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account next month titled Notes from a Cell, chronicling the period endured in custody.

The revelation emerged less than two weeks after the former president gained freedom while he appeals the court ruling related to illegal collaboration in a case to acquire presidential race money from the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections

“In prison there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he notes in a preview, suggesting the memoir centers around his reflections during solitary confinement rather than wider commentary regarding the overcrowded and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, which is missing at the prison, where there is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The noise is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is strengthened in prison.”

Release Hearing: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, Sarkozy was present via screen from his cell, describing his time inside as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who have made this nightmare bearable – as it truly is one.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It has an impact all who experience it due to its intensity.”

First of Its Kind

He, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, was the first former head from the EU and the first leader since WWII from France to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity to compose an account.

Reading Material

It remains unclear whether he had time to review and analyze the three books he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, where a blameless person is sentenced to jail later flees to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

The former leader was placed secluded due to safety concerns in a room roughly 100 square feet including private facilities in the Paris jail located in the capital. Security personnel occupied an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned that he consumed just yogurt during his stay because he feared prison cuisine might have been spat on. He had facilities to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, who visited his client every day while he was in prison, told the release hearing security would be better outside jail rather than in custody. “There were threats against his life, has heard screaming at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Charges and Sentence

His incarceration began on 21 October after a French court sentenced him to a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration related to a plan to obtain election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, and a fresh trial set for next spring.