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Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a book in the coming weeks titled Notes from a Cell, chronicling his experience endured in jail.

This news came just 11 days after the ex-leader gained freedom while he appeals his conviction for unlawful coordination in a case to obtain presidential race money from the leadership of former Libyan leader.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Inside jail one sees little, and nothing to do,” he notes in one passage, suggesting the book is more about his reflections from seclusion as opposed to extensive analysis of the packed and struggling jail system in France.

“Silence escapes me, not present in that facility, where there is constant sound,” he continues. “The noise persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life grows stronger while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

At his release request hearing, he had appeared via screen from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, and who helped make this nightmare bearable – as it truly is one.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It affects one all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, was the first past president of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure from France to be incarcerated.

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

Cell Library

It is not certain whether he had time to read and critique the texts he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, in which an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

He remained in solitary confinement for his own security in a room of about nine sq metres including private facilities at the correctional facility in Paris. Guards stayed in the next cell.

It was stated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks during his stay worried that any food may have been contaminated. Although he had access to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if the memoir includes meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly daily during the incarceration, told the release hearing security would be better released rather than in custody. “He has faced menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October following a French court gave him five years in prison for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, and another court case planned for early next year.