PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday he had recovered from a dizzy turn while out jogging at the weekend but acknowledged he needed to rest.

"I wanted to say to the French people that my health is good," Sarkozy told reporters at the Elysee Palace after the last Cabinet meeting before he leaves for the summer break with his wife Carla Bruni at her Riviera villa.

Sarkozy earlier issued a reassuring message on the social network site Facebook but the remarks were his first in public since he was hospitalized on Sunday after feeling faint during a run in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.