Egyptian-Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath arrived in France on Saturday after almost two and a half years in detention in Egypt.
Mr Shaath, 48, was a figure of the 2011 uprising in Egypt.
The son of veteran Palestinian politician Nabil Shaath, he also led the Egyptian chapter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel.
His family said they were “relieved and overjoyed” at his release after 900 days of “arbitrary detention” but that it was “regretful” that he was forced to renounce his Egyptian citizenship as a condition of his release.
“No one should have to choose between their freedom and their citizenship,” they said.
The Egyptian authorities later handed Mr Shaath over to a representative of the Palestinian Authority at Cairo International Airport.
From there, he took a flight to Amman, the Jordanian capital, before travelling on to Paris, his family said.
He arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on Saturday, where he was reunited with his wife.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter saluted the Egyptian decision to free Mr Shaath.
“I share the relief of his wife, Celine Le Brun, who he will meet in France,” he wrote.
“Thank you to everyone who has played a positive role in this happy outcome.”
Mr Shaath’s wife was deported from Egypt soon after her husband was arrested in July 2019 on charges of aiding a “terrorist organisation”.
In April 2020, Egypt placed him on a terrorism list with 12 other people.
In December, five human rights groups had called on Mr Macron to put pressure on Egypt to release Mr Shaath.
The French President had previously addressed the detention with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Paris in December 2020.
