🔗 Share this article The Former French President Preparing to Release Jail Diary Documenting His 20 Days Behind Bars The ex-president of France plans a personal account next month titled Notes from a Cell, which recounts his experience served behind bars. This news came just 11 days after the ex-leader left prison as he contests the court ruling on charges of unlawful coordination in a case to secure political financing linked to the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts “Inside jail one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he writes in one passage, suggesting the book centers around his thoughts during seclusion instead of wider commentary on the strained and struggling French prison system. “Silence escapes me, not present in La Santé, where one hears endless commotion,” he continues. “The noise persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world grows stronger while incarcerated.” Release Hearing: Recounting the Hardship At his release request hearing, Sarkozy participated remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as draining. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this ordeal tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.” “It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It affects one every inmate as it’s exhausting.” First of Its Kind The former president, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural past president of an EU country and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to experience jail. Ahead of his incarceration he declared he planned to utilize the opportunity to write a book. Reading Material It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to go through the volumes he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, in which a blameless person ends up incarcerated later flees to exact retribution. Life in Confinement He remained in isolation for his own security in a cell of about nine sq metres including private facilities at La Santé prison in Paris. Guards occupied a neighbouring cell. Sources mentioned that he consumed just yogurt during his stay because he feared meals provided may have been contaminated. Options were available to prepare his own meals yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration. Legal Perspective His attorney, Christophe Ingrain every day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing he would be safer out of prison rather than in custody. “There were menacing messages, listened to yells after dark and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.” Legal Proceedings His incarceration began on 21 October when a French court gave him five years in prison for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race. He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial is scheduled for next spring.