PARIS (AFP) - Former president Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday resigned from France's top constitutional body after it upheld a decision that he had exceeded official spending limits during last year's election campaign.

Mr Sarkozy said in a statement to AFP that he was resigning "immediately" from the Constitutional Council to "regain his freedom of speech" to react to the decision, which sees him lose out on a 10-million-euro (S$16.5 million) reimbursement.