Hollande pardons woman jailed for violent husband's murder

A woman jailed for 10 years after murdering her violent husband has been pardoned by French President Francois Hollande.

Jacqueline Sauvage, 69, was convicted of the murder of husband Norbert in 2012 having shot him three times in the back.

Sauvage's husband was said to have been violent towards her for decades and sexually abused two of Sauvage's three daughters.

Her son also suffered physical abuse, and committed suicide the day before Sauvage killer her husband.

Following her pardon by the French PM, the mother-of-four has now been released early from her 10-year sentence.

After Sauvage's convictions, her three daughters sought a presidential pardon, gathering over 380,000 signatures in an online petition.

"It is a long battle that has just ended ... but our fight continues for all other women," Sauvage's lawyer Janine Bonaggiunta told BFM TV.

She confirmed that Sauvage had left prison, accompanied by one of her daughters.

Hollande had already granted Sauvage a sentence reduction in January.

"The President of the Republic judged that the place of Madame Sauvage was no longer in prison, but beside her family," his office said in a statement.

In 2013, Hollande also used his presidential prerogative to allow Philippe El Shennawy, then France's longest-serving prisoner, to be freed on parole after 38 years in jail.

The French president has the power to reduce judicial penalties, but not to quash the underlying conviction.