Former President Nicholas Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was jailed in October after being convicted of conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya.
The former French president, 70, was freed from jail on Monday pending his appeal against his conviction for conspiring to raise funds from Libya.
His car with tinted windows was seen leaving La Sante prison in Paris and headed towards his home in west Paris.
Under the terms of his release, Sarkozy is banned from leaving France and from being in touch with key people, including co-defendants and witnesses in the case and the justice ministry, the court said. An appeal could happen in the spring.
Speaking from prison via videolink, Sarkozy argued he has always met all justice requirements.
“I had never imagined I would experience prison at 70. This ordeal was imposed on me, and I lived through it. It’s hard, very hard,” he said.
He had asked a court earlier on Monday to be released from jail pending an appeal.
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