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The ex-president of France will soon publish a memoir in the coming weeks titled Notes from a Cell, detailing his time spent behind bars.

The announcement was made shortly after Sarkozy was released while his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict on charges of illegal collaboration in a case to acquire political financing provided by the government of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in an extract, suggesting the book will focus on his thoughts during seclusion instead of wider commentary on the strained and troubled French prison system.

“Silence escapes me, not present in that facility, where noise is constant sound,” he continues. “The noise unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection grows stronger behind bars.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, he had appeared by video link from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience manageable – as it truly is one.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It affects one every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

Historical Context

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural past president from the EU and the initial post-WWII figure of France to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he intended to spend the period to write a book.

Reading Material

It remains unclear whether he had time to go through the texts he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a blameless person is sentenced to jail then breaks out to exact retribution.

Life in Confinement

He was held in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a cell approximately nine square meters including private facilities in the Paris jail in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned that he had eaten just yogurt in prison because he feared any food might have been spat on. Options were available for self-catering yet he declined, according to reports. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, who saw him regularly daily during the incarceration, stated during proceedings he would be safer released compared to inside. “He received death threats, listened to yells during nighttime plus rapid actions next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison in late October following a French court sentenced him to a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to secure campaign funds during his election campaign.

He disputes the charges challenging the decision, with a new trial set for early next year.