Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was released early three weeks after being sentenced to five years in prison for participating in a criminal conspiracy.
He will be subject to strict judicial supervision and will be barred from leaving France.
Sarkozy’s vehicle was seen leaving Paris’ La Santé prison just before 15:00 PM (14:00 GMT), less than an hour and a half after the court approved his early release.
On October 21, the 70-year-old former center-right president was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to finance his 2007 election campaign by receiving money from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
His lawyers immediately requested his release, and an appeal trial is scheduled for March next year.
One of the conditions for Sarkozy’s release is that he have no contact with Ministry of Justice officials. During his imprisonment, he received a visit from Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The visit prompted 30 French lawyers to file a complaint against Darmanin, alleging a conflict of interest because he was a former colleague and friend of Sarkozy.
Sarkozy told the Paris court via video link that he described his solitary confinement as “horrible” and a “nightmare.”
Prosecutor Damien Brunet recommended approving Sarkozy’s request for release but barring the former president from contacting other witnesses in the so-called ‘Libya dossier’.
Sarkozy, who has always denied any wrongdoing, told the court via video link that he had never had the “crazy idea” of demanding money from Gaddafi and that he would “never admit to something I didn’t do.”
Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who made his time in prison bearable. “They showed great humanity,” he said.
Sarkozy’s wife, singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and two of the former president’s sons attended the court to support him.
Sarkozy is the first former French leader to be jailed since World War II Nazi collaborator Philippe Pétain was jailed on treason charges in 1945.
Since entering prison, Sarkozy has been held in a cell in the isolation wing.
He had a toilet, shower, desk, small electric range and small TV, for which he paid a monthly fee of €14 (£12), and also had access to a small refrigerator.
He also had the right to receive information from the outside world, to visit family, and to receive written and telephone contact, but was effectively kept in solitary confinement. He was only allowed one hour a day to exercise alone in the wing’s separate courtyard.
Two bodyguards were stationed in a nearby cell, including Interior Minister Laurent Núñez, who was there because of Sarkozy’s status. “There were definitely threats against him,” Nuñez said.
Sarkozy served as president from 2007 to 2012. He has been under criminal investigation since leaving office and had to wear an electronic tag on his ankle for several months after being found guilty in December of attempting to bribe a magistrate to provide confidential information on a separate case.
