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The ex-president of France plans a memoir this autumn called Notes from a Cell, detailing his time served in custody.

This news was made less than two weeks after the former president gained freedom as he contests the court ruling for criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to acquire political financing linked to the government of former Libyan leader.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he reflects in an extract, indicating the account is more about his reflections from solitary confinement instead of a broader observation on the overcrowded and troubled French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, not present at the prison, where noise is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The din unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is fortified behind bars.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, Sarkozy was present remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, and who helped make this nightmare bearable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It has an impact on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

Sarkozy, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, was the first ex-leader of an EU country and the first postwar leader of France to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he would use his time for authoring a memoir.

Cell Library

It is not certain if he found the opportunity to read and critique the volumes he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, where a wrongfully accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek vengeance.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was placed secluded due to safety concerns in a space approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Security personnel stayed in an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted solely dairy snacks during his stay due to concerns any food could have been tampered with. Although he had access for self-catering yet he declined, as per accounts. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, who saw him regularly daily during the incarceration, informed the court he would be safer outside jail rather than in custody. “There were threats against his life, listened to yells after dark and emergency responses in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

He entered custody last month when the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration related to a plan to obtain campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial planned for early next year.