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Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a book in the coming weeks named Notes from a Cell, detailing the period served in custody.

The announcement emerged shortly after the ex-leader gained freedom as he contests his conviction related to illegal collaboration in a case to obtain political financing from the regime of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars one sees little, and nothing to do,” he writes in a preview, implying the memoir is more about his musings from solitary confinement as opposed to wider commentary regarding the overcrowded and struggling jail system in France.

“I forget silence, which is missing in La Santé, where noise is a lot to hear,” he states. “The noise persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is fortified in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, the former leader was present via screen from inside the facility, describing his time inside as exhausting. He had told the court: “I wish to commend the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this ordeal manageable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural former head in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure from France to be incarcerated.

Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is if he found the opportunity to go through the texts he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man is imprisoned then breaks out to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

The former leader remained in isolation due to safety concerns in a room roughly 100 square feet featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in an adjacent room.

It was stated that he consumed only yoghurts while inside due to concerns any food might have been spat on. He had facilities to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, as per accounts. It is uncertain if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, told the release hearing his safety would improve out of prison than inside. “He received threats against his life, heard shouts at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison in late October when a Paris court gave him a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to obtain election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and another court case is scheduled for next spring.