Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was freed from his “nightmare” in a Paris jail just 20 days into a five-year sentence over an alleged electoral funding conspiracy linked to the late Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi’s regime.

Sarkozy's prison sentence was enforced immediately because of the "extraordinary seriousness" of the crime, judge Nathalie Gavarino told the court. He was incarcerated at La Sante prison in Paris last month - a stunning downfall for a man who had led France from 2007 until 2012.