Mahmoud Jibril, who serves as the foreign minister of the opposition Transitional National Council, met Sarkozy in Paris on Saturday, for a discussion on the prospects for a political transition in Libya.
Sarkozy and the French prime minister, Francois Fillon, welcomed Jibril on the steps of the Elysee Palace, the president's official residence. No statement was released after their talks.
France has been taking part, along with other international forces under NATO command, in air strikes on Libyan government sites in an effort to protect the country's civilian population.
The meeting on Saturday came a day after Jibril met Tom Donilon, the US president's national security adviser, at the White House in Washington, DC.
The White House called the council "legitimate and credible", but stopped short of granting full diplomatic recognition to the opposition.
"During the meeting, Mr Donilon stated that the United States views the [council] as a legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people," the White House said in a statement, released after the meeting.
"In contrast, Mr Donilon stressed that [Libyan leader Muammar] Gaddafi has lost his legitimacy to rule and reiterated [US] President [Barack] Obama's call for Gaddafi to leave immediately," it said.
Obama did not meet with the opposition leaders.
"Mr Donilon and Dr Jibril discussed how the United States and the coalition can provide additional support to the [council]. Mr Donilon applauded the [council's] commitment to an inclusive political transition and a democratic future for Libya," the statement concluded
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