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PARIS — As it meticulously planned and executed its daring rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, Colombia kept a very important person out of the loop: French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

That is stunning because Betancourt is a dual French-Colombian national, her captivity was a cause celebre in France and Sarkozy had maintained a drumbeat of diplomatic pressure to try to spring her from the hands of Colombian rebels.

And yet, when word of Betancourt's long-awaited freedom started to reach Paris on Wednesday night, Sarkozy was out of the office, at his wife's residence in a posh part of town, his office says. He scrambled back to the presidential Elysee Palace. France learned of the release just 15 minutes before Colombian media broke the news, said Sarkozy's closest aide, Elysee chief of staff Claude Gueant.

Gueant explained on French TV that while Colombia did tell France months ago that a military operation was being contemplated, "it is true that we weren't expecting it at that precise moment." Gueant added that the French played no role in what Sarkozy called the "extremely brilliant" Colombian army rescue.

But Sarkozy is a master of spotting public relations opportunities, and this was too huge to miss. Having collected himself, the French leader gathered Betancourt's children, Melanie and Lorenzo, and her sister Astrid to his side and led them out before the cameras, for an address Wednesday night that French television stations broke into normal programming to broadcast.

For Sarkozy, it could not have gone better: The joyful kids and Betancourt herself, who spoke in Colombia, thanked the French leader publicly for his efforts — even though he was kept in the dark for the final chapter. Unusually, even his political opponents tipped their hats to Sarkozy's unrelenting diplomatic efforts after he promised on his election night last year that, for him, getting Betancourt out was a priority.

The image boost for Sarkozy from Betancourt's release comes after a rocky first year in power, where he's suffered slumping polls and often failed to maintain the statesmanslike poise that he displayed Wednesday night, standing quietly behind Betancourt's children as they breathlessly described their delight.

Just this week, Sarkozy started France's six-month presidency of the European Union on an undiplomatic foot, ripping into the bloc's trade chief. He accused Peter Mandelson in a television interview of making job-destroying concessions in global trade negotiations. The public spat with Mandelson — who responded though his spokesman that Sarkozy's criticisms were "wrong and unjustified" — cast a pall over what promises to be a tricky spell for France at the helm of the EU.

Embarrassingly, Sarkozy was also surreptitiously caught on camera losing his cool before that TV interview, when a studio technician ignored the French leader's greeting of "bonjour monsieur."

"A guest is entitled to a 'hello,"' Sarkozy said, twitchily adjusting his suit and chair, obviously peeved. "Unbelievable."

French diplomats said they didn't find it strange that France was kept in the dark about the army operation that freed Betancourt. They said the rescue was planned over months in great secrecy and that even some members of Colombia's government weren't in the know.

But while France wasn't informed, the United States apparently was. The freed hostages included three Americans. U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield said U.S. and Colombian forces cooperated closely on the rescue mission, including sharing intelligence, equipment, training advice and operational experience. U.S. presidential candidate John McCain also said Colombia's president had told him in advance of the rescue plans.

Gueant said he expected Betancourt to fly to France on Friday afternoon, on a plane that Sarkozy dispatched to Colombia, with her children on board. Her arrival will offer another photo-op: Sarkozy's office said he would preside at a welcoming ceremony for her at the airport.