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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir this autumn called Notes from a Cell, which recounts his experience endured behind bars.

This news was made shortly following the former president gained freedom as he appeals the court ruling for criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire political financing from the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings

“In prison visibility is limited, with little to occupy time,” he writes in one passage, implying the account centers around his thoughts while in solitary confinement instead of wider commentary regarding the overcrowded and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“I forget silence, not present in that facility, where noise is endless commotion,” he adds. “The racket persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world is fortified while incarcerated.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, Sarkozy was present by video link from a room in prison, describing his time inside as exhausting. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, and who have made this ordeal tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner due to its intensity.”

Unprecedented Situation

He, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to be incarcerated.

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

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to review and analyze the volumes he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to exact retribution.

Daily Reality

He was held in isolation to protect him in a room of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at the correctional facility located in the capital. Security personnel were stationed in an adjacent room.

Reports indicated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks during his stay due to concerns prison cuisine might have been spat on. Options were available to prepare his own meals but refused this, as per accounts. Unclear remains if the memoir includes his dietary choices.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings he would be safer released than inside. “There were threats against his life, heard shouts at night and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

His incarceration began last month following a Paris court imposed a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial planned for the coming spring.