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The ex-president of France plans a book next month named Notes from a Cell, which recounts his experience endured in custody.

The revelation emerged shortly after the former president left prison as he appeals the court ruling for unlawful coordination in a case to obtain presidential race money from the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Prison Experience: Solitary Musings

“In prison there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he writes in a preview, suggesting the account is more about his thoughts during isolation rather than extensive analysis on the strained and struggling correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, not present at the prison, where there is a lot to hear,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world is strengthened in prison.”

Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, he was present remotely from a room in prison, depicting prison life as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, easing this difficult experience manageable – as it truly is one.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark all who experience it due to its intensity.”

Historical Context

Sarkozy, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure of France to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he planned to utilize the opportunity to write a book.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear whether he had time to review and analyze the volumes he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man is imprisoned later flees to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy was placed in solitary confinement to protect him in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Two bodyguards were stationed in a neighbouring cell.

It was stated that he had eaten only yoghurts in prison because he feared meals provided might have been spat on. He had facilities to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, according to reports. Not known is if he will detail meals during incarceration.

Legal Perspective

His attorney, Christophe Ingrain each day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing he would be safer out of prison than inside. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

He entered custody in late October when the judiciary gave him a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to secure campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial is scheduled for early next year.