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The ex-president of France plans a memoir next month named Notes from a Cell, detailing the period endured in jail.

The announcement emerged less than two weeks after the ex-leader left prison as his appeal proceeds his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain political financing linked to the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“Behind bars one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he writes in a preview, implying the memoir will focus on his reflections while in solitary confinement instead of extensive analysis of the strained and struggling jail system in France.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where there is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The noise persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, personal reflection grows stronger in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, he had appeared remotely from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as draining. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who have made this difficult experience manageable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark every inmate as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader of an EU country and the first postwar leader of France to serve time in prison.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he intended to spend the period for authoring a memoir.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the texts he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated later flees to exact retribution.

Life in Confinement

He remained in isolation to protect him in a room approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Guards were stationed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted solely dairy snacks in prison worried that prison cuisine might have been spat on. Although he had access to prepare his own meals yet he declined, according to reports. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, Christophe Ingrain each day throughout the jail term, informed the court security would be better outside jail rather than in custody. “He received threats against his life, heard shouts after dark and emergency responses in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

His incarceration began last month after a French court imposed a half-decade term for illegal collaboration related to a plan to obtain election financing for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and another court case planned for next spring.