The taste of freedom: Ex French president Nicolas Sarkozy is APPLAUDED by diners as he goes for lunch at Paris restaurant with Carla Bruni a day after his release from jail

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was seen applauding while having dinner with his wife at a restaurant in Paris, just one day after he was released from prison.

After spending just 20 days in La Sante prison in Paris, Sarkozy, 70, was released following a hearing at the appeals court on Monday. He arrived home in a car with blacked-out windows, escorted by motorcycle police.

But on Tuesday afternoon, the former president went for a walk at his Paris home before heading to the four-star Le Flandrin, just minutes from Place du Trocadero.

His wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni, also joined the photo of the duo coming out of the black Renault Espace outside the restaurant.

Footage taken outside Le Flandrin shows Bruni greeting reporters gathered outside, Sarkozy ushering him through the door, while fans smile and watch.

But after spending just over an hour in the restaurant, as the couple prepared to leave, they were greeted with applause from dozens of customers.

In the footage, applauders were heard shouting ‘bravo’ and ‘justice’ as they left the restaurant without getting into their vehicles.

Sarkozy reportedly rejected President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to attend Armistice Day ceremonies after spending three weeks behind bars.

Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni had lunch at Le Flandrin restaurant in Paris the day after the former president was released from prison

Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy and his wife were greeted with applause as they left Le Flandrin restaurant in Paris on Tuesday.

Sarkozy reportedly rejected President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to attend Armistice Day ceremonies after spending three weeks behind bars

In its statement yesterday, the court said that Sarkozy has been placed under judicial supervision since his release from prison and will be prohibited from leaving French territory.

In its statement yesterday, the court said that Sarkozy has been placed under judicial supervision since his release from prison and will be prohibited from leaving French territory. The appeal hearing is expected to be held in March.

The former head of state will now be able to continue his routine activities other than eating meals with his family, including receiving visitors to his office on Rue de Miromesnil, preparing for the appeal hearing and responding to correspondence.

Thousands of letters were sent to Sarkozy during his imprisonment. ‘No letter will go unanswered. ‘The end of the story hasn’t been written yet,’ a source close to the former president said Paris Match.

Sarkozy also told the French magazine that he would devote his time to writing his book and spending time with his family.

‘I have a title in mind, I don’t know the rest. I am my own first reader. But I can say that this will not be a novel,’ he said the day before his imprisonment.

His son Louis reacted to his release by sharing a photo of a child with his father with the caption ‘Long live freedom’.

The former leader’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, told reporters: ‘The task now for Nicolas Sarkozy and for us is to prepare for this appeal hearing.’

Sarkozy, 70, had served just three weeks of a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya after striking a deal with the country’s longtime ruler, Muammar Gaddafi.

Investigators believe Tripoli was promised to help Gaddafi restore his international image in return after he was accused of killing hundreds of passengers in the bombings of a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 and another over Niger in 1989.

The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy related to the plan. However, this did not lead to the conclusion that he received or used funds for his campaign.

Following his arrest, Sarkozy became the first former French head of state to be sent behind bars in modern times following his conviction on 25 September.

He vehemently denies any wrongdoing and immediately requested early release following his arrest.

Sarkozy told the court that he had not requested any financing from Gaddafi. ‘I will never accept something I didn’t do,’ he said.

While he was incarcerated, reports emerged that he had received death threats just one day into his sentence.

Speaking via video conference at Monday’s hearing, Sarkozy complained that life behind bars was a “nightmare”.

‘I never thought I would be in prison at the age of 70. This ordeal was imposed on me and I lived it. “It’s difficult, very difficult,” he said. ‘I might even say it’s tiring.’

Sarkozy returned home on Monday after being released from prison. He was placed under judicial custody and banned from leaving the country

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, wife of former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy, leaves the Paris Court of Appeal on November 10, 2025

The former president also paid tribute to prison staff, who he said helped make life behind bars “bearable.”

Sarkozy was separated from the general population during his time in prison, with two guards occupying a neighboring cell to ensure his safety.

Prison guards said the move was an insult to their profession, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said it was necessary given his ‘status’ and ‘threats against him’.

Sarkozy also received a visit from Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin late last month, despite warnings from France’s chief prosecutor, Remy Heitz, ahead of the appeal hearing that it risked “undermining the independence of judges”.

As part of his release conditions, he was banned from contacting Darmanin.

Sarkozy’s social media account published a video last week showing piles of letters, postcards and packages said to have been sent to him; Some of these also included collages, chocolates or books.

The day he entered prison, a large crowd sang the national anthem in front of his house and called for him to ‘return quickly’.

The former president, who ruled from 2007 to 2012, faces separate trials, including a Nov. 26 ruling by France’s highest court that his failed reelection bid in 2012 was illegally financed, and an ongoing investigation into alleged witness tampering in the Libya case.

In 2023, he was convicted of corruption and influence peddling for trying to bribe a judge in exchange for information about a legal case involving him.

The Supreme Court, France’s highest court, later upheld the decision.