Georges Vandenbeusch, 42, who was freed on Tuesday, said he had not been mistreated by his captors despite being kept in “rustic conditions”.
Smiling, and freshly shaven, the priest was greeted in Paris by President Francois Hollande and a group of loved ones.
Each time French hostages are freed, there is speculation about whether, or how much, ransom was paid. France insists, this time included, that it does not pay ransom.
Instead, Hollande credited the “relentless” work of authorities in Cameroon and Nigeria, but provided no details on the release.
Vandenbeusch was kidnapped on November 13 by heavily armed men who burst into his parish at night in the far north of the central African country and took him to neighbouring Nigeria.
The radical Islamist movement Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people in attacks against Christians and government targets in northern Nigeria, claimed responsibility for holding the French priest soon after he was kidnapped.
Vandenbeusch described his time in captivity as a period of “terrible boredom, sadness and anger”.
“I was under a tree for a month and a half,” he said, explaining that his two main guards spoke a local language and not English, he did not have anything to read, or a radio to listen to.
"Best end of year gift"
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who went to collect the priest in Cameroon, hailed his release as “the best end of year gift”.
The Vatican also welcomed the priest’s release and called on the faithful to pray for those still being held around the world.
There are still six French people being held hostage in Mali and Syria, and Hollande also reiterated his support for their families.
Vandenbeusch was abducted from his home near the town of Koza in northern Cameroon, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Nigerian border.
He was seized by about 15 people who had first gone to the nuns’ house, apparently to look for money, giving him time to warn the embassy.
At the time, Hollande had promised everything was being done to find him, but had also warned other French citizens against putting themselves in harm’s way.
The priest had been advised not to stay on in an area designated as a dangerous zone prone to militancy and kidnappings.
(With AP and AFP)