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The ex-president of France plans a memoir next month named Notes from a Cell, chronicling the period served behind bars.

The revelation emerged less than two weeks after the ex-leader left prison as his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict for criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to obtain political financing from the leadership of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he writes in an extract, indicating the account is more about his reflections during isolation rather than a broader observation of the packed and struggling correctional facilities in the country.

“Silence escapes me, not present in La Santé, where there is constant sound,” he adds. “The din unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, inner life grows stronger behind bars.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, he was present by video link from a room in prison, describing his time inside as gruelling. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, and who helped make this ordeal tolerable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It affects one on any prisoner due to its intensity.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader of an EU country and the first postwar leader from France to be incarcerated.

Prior to imprisonment he had said he would use his time to write a book.

Books in Prison

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to review and analyze the volumes he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a blameless person is imprisoned later flees to take revenge.

Daily Reality

The former leader remained in solitary confinement for his own security in a cell roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility in Paris. Security personnel were stationed in the next cell.

It was stated his diet consisted just yogurt while inside due to concerns meals provided could have been tampered with. He had facilities for self-catering yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain every day while he was in prison, told the release hearing security would be better out of prison rather than in custody. “There were menacing messages, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison last month when a Paris court gave him five years in prison for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to secure campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.

He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial planned for early next year.