Radical French farm activist Mr Jose Bové walked free from prison today after serving just five weeks of a 10-month jail sentence for destroying gene-modified plants.
Mr Bové, now free to help organise an upcoming anti-globalisation gathering in his home region of Larzac, southwest France, smiled broadly as he stepped out into blinding sunshine to applause from supporters.
"I am very happy to be among all those who came out in support for me. Prison has not changed my convictions," he said. "I will start work from Monday."
His release came after the public prosecutor in Montpellier, where Mr Bové has been in prison since late June, announced he would not appeal a judge's order yesterday to release him early under a home detention regime with limited freedom.
He will complete his sentence at his farm under policesurveillance.
Mr Bové rose to fame in the late 1990s for denouncing globalisation and junk food, and spent six weeks in jail in early 2003 for smashing up a McDonald's restaurant.
He was convicted in November for ripping up genetically-modified rice and maize plants in 1998 and 1999, but refused to give himself up and was only jailed after a dramatic police swoop in June.
President Jacques Chirac, mindful of the popularity of the walrus-moustachioed folk hero, had already slashed Mr Bové's jail sentence by over 4 months in his Bastille Day amnesty last month.