Gilad Shalit and his parents Noam and Aviva Shalit met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his office in Paris. At the meeting, they thanked the French government's efforts for his release from Hamas captivity. Shalit's parents was born in France and immigrated to Israel. 

Shalit was freed in October of 2011 after five years in prison. He was taken prisoner after a shootout with Hamas terrorists.  1,027 Arab terrorists were released in exchange for Shalit.