A Paris court has allowed former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to leave prison just three weeks after he went on bail. five-year sentences for participating in a criminal conspiracy.
He will be on probation, under strict judicial supervision, and will not be allowed to leave France.
The request for Sarkozy to be released from prison was made by his lawyers, as well as by the prosecution.
He is expected to be released from the Paris prison Sante during the day.
The former president (70) was sentenced to five years in prison on October 21st. due to illegal financing his presidential campaign with money the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Speaking via video link, the former French president described the three weeks spent in prison as "exhausting" and a "nightmare."
Public prosecutor Damien Brunet recommended that Sarkozy's request be accepted, but that the former president be prohibited from contacting other witnesses in the case dubbed the "Libya dossier."
Sarkozy, who has always denied doing anything illegal, told the court via video link that he had never had the "crazy idea" of asking Gaddafi for money.
"I would never admit to something I didn't do," he said.
Sarkozy thanked prison staff for making his time behind bars "bearable."
"They showed extraordinary humanity," he said.
Sarkozy's wife, singer and former model Carla Bruni Sarkozy, and the president's two sons were present in the courtroom to support him.
Sarkozy is the first former French president to be behind bars since World War II, when collaborator Philippe Pétain was sentenced to prison for treason in 1945.
Sarkozy is being held in a cell located in a separate part of the prison.
Two bodyguards are in the cells next to his.
"The former president is entitled to protection due to his status," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said in October.
"Obviously there is a threat" to his safety, he added.
Sarkozy was president of the country from 2007 to 2012.
Since he left office, several criminal proceedings have been conducted against him.
After being convicted last December of attempting to bribe a judge in a separate case, Sarkozy has been carrying it around for months.
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