Tuesday, November 11, 2025 - Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, has been released from jail, three weeks into a five-year prison term for taking part in a criminal conspiracy.
He will be subject to strict judicial supervision and barred
from leaving France.
Sarkozy's car was seen leaving La Santé prison in Paris just
before 15:00 (14:00 GMT), less than an hour-and-a-half after a court agreed to
his early release. Soon after, he was seen arriving at his home in western
Paris.
On 21 October, the former centre-right president, 70, was
sentenced to five years for conspiring to fund his 2007 election campaign with
money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
His legal team immediately filed a request seeking his
release.
Christophe Ingrain, one of Sarkozy's lawyers, hailed his
client's release as "a step forward" and said they would now be
preparing for the appeal trial due to be held in March.
One of the conditions of Sarkozy's release is that he does
not contact any justice ministry employees.
During his incarceration, he was visited by Justice Minister
Gérald Darmanin. The visit prompted 30 French lawyers to file a complaint
against Darmanin, highlighting what they said was a conflict of interest as
Darmanin was a former colleague and friend of Sarkozy's.
Speaking to a court in Paris via video link, Sarkozy
described his time in solitary confinement as "gruelling" and "a
nightmare".
Public prosecutor Damien Brunet recommended that Sarkozy's
request for release be granted, but that the former president be banned from
contacting other witnesses in the so-called "Libyan dossier".
Sarkozy, who has always denied any wrongdoing, told the
court via video link that he had never had the "mad idea" of asking
Gaddafi for money and stated he would "never admit to something I haven't
done".
Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who had made his
time in prison "bearable". "They have shown exceptional
humanity," he said.
Sarkozy's wife, the singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy,
and two of the former president's sons were present in the courtroom to support
him
Sarkozy is the first French ex-leader placed behind bars
since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for
treason in 1945.
Since entering prison, Sarkozy has been held in a cell in
the isolation wing.
He had a toilet, a shower, a desk, a small electric hob and
a small TV – for which he paid a monthly €14 (£12) fee – and the right to a
small fridge.
He also had the right to receive information from the
outside world and family visits as well as written and phone contact, but was
in effect in solitary confinement. He was allowed just one hour a day for
exercise, by himself in the wing's segregated courtyard.
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