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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir next month named Notes from a Cell, which recounts his time spent in custody.

This news came less than two weeks after Sarkozy gained freedom while his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict for illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to acquire election campaign funds linked to the regime of the late Libyan dictator.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“In prison one sees little, and nothing to do,” he notes in a preview, implying the account is more about his musings from seclusion as opposed to wider commentary of the packed and struggling correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where noise is constant sound,” he continues. “The racket persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, inner life is strengthened in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, he was present remotely from a room in prison, depicting prison life as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this ordeal tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It affects one on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

Historical Context

The former president, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural former head in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to serve time in prison.

Before entering jail he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity to compose an account.

Cell Library

It is not certain whether he had time to review and analyze the three books he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, where a blameless person ends up incarcerated but escapes to seek vengeance.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was held in solitary confinement to protect him in a space roughly 100 square feet including private facilities in the Paris jail located in the capital. Security personnel were stationed in an adjacent room.

It was stated that he consumed just yogurt while inside due to concerns prison cuisine might have been spat on. Options were available to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is if the memoir includes his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client daily throughout the jail term, stated during proceedings he would be safer outside jail compared to inside. “There were menacing messages, heard shouts at night plus rapid actions next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Case Background

His incarceration began last month when a French court sentenced him to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to obtain campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and another court case planned for next spring.