🔗 Share this article The Former French President Preparing to Release Jail Diary Chronicling Three Weeks Behind Bars Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a book in the coming weeks titled Notes from a Cell, chronicling his time served in custody. The announcement emerged just 11 days after the ex-leader was released while he appeals the guilty verdict related to criminal conspiracy in a case to secure election campaign funds from the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi. Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts “Behind bars there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he writes in a preview, implying the book is more about his thoughts during isolation rather than extensive analysis of the packed and crisis-hit jail system in France. “Silence escapes me, not present in that facility, where there is endless commotion,” he adds. “The din unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world grows stronger behind bars.” Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle While appealing for release, he had appeared by video link from his cell, depicting prison life as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience bearable – as it truly is one.” “I didn’t expect at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It leaves a mark all who experience it because it’s gruelling.” First of Its Kind Sarkozy, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, set a precedent as past president in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to experience jail. Before entering jail he had said he intended to spend the period to write a book. Reading Material Unconfirmed is did he manage to review and analyze the texts he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, where a blameless person is imprisoned later flees to seek vengeance. Life in Confinement The former leader was held secluded to protect him in a space approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility in Paris. Guards stayed in the next cell. Reports indicated that he consumed just yogurt during his stay due to concerns any food could have been tampered with. He had facilities to prepare his own meals but refused this, according to reports. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices. Defense Viewpoint His attorney, who saw him regularly each day throughout the jail term, informed the court his safety would improve released rather than in custody. “There were death threats, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.” Charges and Sentence He entered custody in late October after a Paris court sentenced him to a half-decade term for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to secure election financing for his presidential bid. He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial set for early next year.