Abused Woman Who Killed Husband Pardoned

A French woman in her sixties who murdered her husband in 2012 has been released after a second intervention by President Francois Hollande.

Jacqueline Sauvage suffered decades of abuse and became a cause celebre, prompting a campaign for her release.

Mr Hollande issued a partial pardon at the end of January but the courts twice rejected applications for her release.

He has now given Ms Sauvage a complete pardon and she was freed from jail early on Wednesday evening.

Now aged 69, she had been serving a 10-year sentence at Reau prison, to the south-east of Paris.

"I've decided to grant Jacqueline Sauvage a pardon of the rest of her sentence. This pardon puts an immediate end to her detention," the president tweeted

In a further statement from the Elysee Palace, he said he felt her place was with her family and not in jail.

A car carrying Ms Sauvage and her three daughters was seen leaving Reau prison soon afterwards.

Campaigners were overjoyed by the news. But Virginie Duval, the head of the French union of magistrates, complained that the president had acted "to please public opinion", pointing out that the judiciary had followed the law when it rejected Ms Sauvage's appeals.