Post-Presidency
After his defeat at the 2012 election, Nicolas Sarkozy asked his followers to respect Hollande's victory. He invited his successor with François Hollande to attend his last 8 May Victory in Europe Day commemoration. His last day as President of the French Republic was 15 May.
He then went on holiday, invited by several heads of state, clearly signifying that he would not return to national politics in a short term. However, on 8 August, faced with the rising civil war in Syria, he asked the government (particularly François Hollande and Laurent Fabius, his Foreign Minister) to act quickly, speaking publicly for the first time since his defeat.
Read more about this topic: Nicolas Sarkozy