Mitterrand's son leaves prison on bail

The son of former French president Francois Mitterrand has walked out of Paris' La Sante prison after a bail of £500,000 was posted by his family and friends.

Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, 54, smiled as he left the prison in southern Paris, three weeks after being remanded for a suspected role in an arms trafficking scheme.

He was freed hours after his mother, Danielle Mitterrand, delivered the bail - which she called a "ransom" - at the Justice Palace.

"Now he will be able to defend himself," she said.

Mitterrand, African counsellor to his father from 1986-92, is under investigation for complicity in arms trafficking as part of a larger investigation into illicit arms sales to Angola in the 1990s, allegedly worth more than £47m.

Mitterrand allegedly received £1.2m.