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Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a personal account next month titled Notes from a Cell, chronicling the period spent behind bars.

The announcement emerged just 11 days after Sarkozy gained freedom while his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to obtain political financing from the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he writes in an extract, implying the account will focus on his reflections from isolation rather than a broader observation regarding the packed and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, not present at the prison, where there is constant sound,” he continues. “The din persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, inner life is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, he was present by video link from inside the facility, describing his time inside as exhausting. He had told the court: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a trial I must endure. 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, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as former head from the EU and the first postwar leader from France to be incarcerated.

Prior to imprisonment he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is if he found the opportunity to read and critique the texts he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, where a blameless person ends up incarcerated later flees to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

The former leader was held secluded due to safety concerns in a cell of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison located in the capital. Guards occupied a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he consumed solely dairy snacks while inside worried that prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Options were available to cook for himself yet he declined, according to reports. Unclear remains if the memoir includes meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, who saw him regularly every day during the incarceration, informed the court his safety would improve released compared to inside. “He received threats against his life, has heard screaming during nighttime plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

His incarceration began last month after a Paris court gave him five years in prison for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to secure election financing for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, and another court case is scheduled for the coming spring.