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The ex-president of France plans a book in the coming weeks named Notes from a Cell, chronicling the period endured in custody.

The announcement was made less than two weeks after the ex-leader left prison while he contests the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration connected to efforts to secure election campaign funds linked to the leadership of former Libyan leader.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“In prison visibility is limited, with little to occupy time,” he reflects in one passage, implying the account will focus on his thoughts from seclusion instead of extensive analysis of the strained and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where one hears endless commotion,” he adds. “The din is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection is strengthened behind bars.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

While appealing for release, Sarkozy was present remotely from a room in prison, describing his time inside as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this nightmare manageable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It leaves a mark all who experience it due to its intensity.”

Unprecedented Situation

Sarkozy, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, was the first former head of an EU country and the first leader since WWII of France to be incarcerated.

Ahead of his incarceration he had said he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Books in Prison

Unconfirmed is if he found the opportunity to go through the texts he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, where an innocent man is sentenced to jail then breaks out to take revenge.

Daily Reality

He was held secluded to protect him in a cell roughly 100 square feet featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in Paris. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted just yogurt during his stay due to concerns any food might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

The legal representative, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, informed the court his safety would improve released compared to inside. “He has faced death threats, listened to yells during nighttime plus rapid actions in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison in late October following a Paris court gave him five years in prison for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to acquire campaign funds for his presidential bid.

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