French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are "free and on their way to France, after three and a half years of detention in Iran", President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday in a post on social media platform X. The two former detainees were released in November after more than three years in prison on espionage charges.
Issued on: 07/04/2026
By: FRANCE 24
Portraits of French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, imprisoned in Iran for more than three years, displayed in front of the National Assembly. © Aurelien Morissard, AP
Iran has allowed two French former detainees, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, to leave the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday. They had been holed up in French diplomatic premises there since their release from prison.
Iran has allowed two French former detainees, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, to leave the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday. They had been holed up in French diplomatic premises there since their release from prison.
“Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and on route toward French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran,” Macron tweeted.
The green light for them to leave Iran, long sought by France, signaled how Iran is differentiating between nations, treating some favorably and others as foes, in the context of the Iran war. Macron has distanced France from the conflict, saying his country wasn’t consulted in advance about the US-Israel strikes and didn’t want the war.
Iranian authorities freed them from prison in November but didn't let them leave the country. They'd been held for more than three years in detention on spying charges, which Paris said were unfounded.
French officials said they were then being kept safe at the French Embassy in Tehran.
Political prisoners
Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher from eastern France and her partner Paris, in his 70s, were arrested on May 7, 2022, on the last day of a tourist trip to Iran.
They were held in section 209, seen as reserved for political prisoners, at Tehran's Evin Prison.
A source at the French foreign ministry said they left Iran Tuesday at dawn in a diplomatic convoy with the French ambassador and "are currently in Azerbaijan".
Lawmakers greeted Macron's announcement with a standing ovation at the National Assembly.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
Two French nationals released from prison in Iran as part of swap deal
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for the "full and complete release" of French citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were freed from an Iranian prison because of "Islamic clemency" and are still in the country. Iran's foreign ministry stated that the two teachers would remain under surveillance pending the next phase of judicial proceedings.
Issued on: 05/11/2025
By: FRANCE 24
Video by: Emerald MAXWELL/ Mark OWEN
'Political analysts are speculating on whether this could be an exchange'
'State hostages'
The release comes at a time of acute sensitivity in dealings between Tehran and the West in the wake of Israel's 12-day June war against the Islamic republic and the reimposition of UN sanctions in the standoff over the Iranian nuclear drive.
Kohler and Paris were the last two French citizens officially known to be held by Tehran after several other French nationals were released over the last months.
France has described them as "state hostages".
Their sentences on charges of spying for France and Israel issued last month after a closed-door trial amounted to 17 years in prison for Paris and 20 years for Kohler.
Concern grew over their health after they were moved from Evin following an Israeli strike on the prison during the June war.
Kohler was shown in October 2022 on Iranian television in what activists described as a "forced confession", a practice relatively common for detainees in Iran which rights groups say is equivalent to torture.
Her parents Pascal and Mireille told AFP in a statement that they felt "immense relief" that the pair were now in a "little corner of France" even if "all we know for now is that they are out of prison".
'Fruit of French diplomacy'
Iran has said Kohler and Paris could be freed as part of a swap deal with France for Iranian Mahdieh Esfandiari.
Esfandiari, who was arrested in France in February, accused of promoting terrorism on social media, has been transferred to its embassy in Paris, according to Iran's foreign ministry.
"Our citizen in France, Ms Esfandiari, is now free, she is at our embassy, and hopefully, she will return once her trial is over," said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
She is to go on trial in Paris from January 13, but was released last month on bail by the French judicial authorities in a move welcomed by Tehran.
Asked by France 2 if there had been a deal with Tehran, Barrot declined to comment, saying their release had come about "as the fruit of the work of French diplomacy".
France had filed a case with the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the detention of Kohler and Paris, saying they were held under a policy that "targets French nationals travelling in or visiting Iran".
However, in September, the ICJ suddenly dropped the case at Paris's request, sparking speculation that closed-door talks were under way between France and Iran for their release.
Among the Europeans still jailed by Iran is Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmad Reza Djalali, who was sentenced to death in 2017 on espionage charges his family vehemently rejects.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for the "full and complete release" of French citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were freed from an Iranian prison because of "Islamic clemency" and are still in the country. Iran's foreign ministry stated that the two teachers would remain under surveillance pending the next phase of judicial proceedings.
Issued on: 05/11/2025
By: FRANCE 24
Video by: Emerald MAXWELL/ Mark OWEN
The portraits of French nationals Cecile Kohler, 40, left, and Jacques Paris, 72, imprisoned for more than 3 years in Iran are seen set up in front of the French National Assembly, in Paris, July 3, 2025. © Aurelien Morissard, AP
02:08
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday asked his Iranian counterpart for the "full and complete release" of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, a French pair freed from an Iranian prison because of "Islamic clemency" a day earlier.
Kohler and Paris, who are currently at the French embassy in Iran, were imprisoned for more than three years and sentenced to lengthy jail sentences on espionage charges, which their families have always rejected.
In a telephone conversation with Massoud Pezeshkian, Macron welcomed the pair's release "as a first step" and called "for their full and complete release, which should take place as soon as possible."
Kohler, 41, and Paris, 72 were arrested in May 2022 at the end of a trip to Iran that their families say was purely touristic in nature.
They are both teachers, although Paris is retired. They were among a number of Europeans caught up in what activists and some Western governments, including France, describe as a deliberate strategy of hostage-taking by Iran to extract concessions from the West.
Expressing "immense relief", Macron said on X that the pair had been released from the notorious Evin prison in northern Tehran and were on their way to the French embassy.
In Tehran, the foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said they had been granted "conditional release" on bail by the judge in charge of the case and "will be placed under surveillance until the next stage of the judicial proceedings".
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told France 2 TV they were in "good health" at the residence of the French ambassador, but declined to give details on when they would be allowed to leave Iran.
"We will not spare any effort. It's a first step towards their definitive release," he said, adding he had already spoken to Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
Their Paris-based legal team said in a statement that the release had "ended their arbitrary detention which lasted 1,277 days".
02:08
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday asked his Iranian counterpart for the "full and complete release" of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, a French pair freed from an Iranian prison because of "Islamic clemency" a day earlier.
Kohler and Paris, who are currently at the French embassy in Iran, were imprisoned for more than three years and sentenced to lengthy jail sentences on espionage charges, which their families have always rejected.
In a telephone conversation with Massoud Pezeshkian, Macron welcomed the pair's release "as a first step" and called "for their full and complete release, which should take place as soon as possible."
Kohler, 41, and Paris, 72 were arrested in May 2022 at the end of a trip to Iran that their families say was purely touristic in nature.
They are both teachers, although Paris is retired. They were among a number of Europeans caught up in what activists and some Western governments, including France, describe as a deliberate strategy of hostage-taking by Iran to extract concessions from the West.
Expressing "immense relief", Macron said on X that the pair had been released from the notorious Evin prison in northern Tehran and were on their way to the French embassy.
In Tehran, the foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said they had been granted "conditional release" on bail by the judge in charge of the case and "will be placed under surveillance until the next stage of the judicial proceedings".
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told France 2 TV they were in "good health" at the residence of the French ambassador, but declined to give details on when they would be allowed to leave Iran.
"We will not spare any effort. It's a first step towards their definitive release," he said, adding he had already spoken to Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
Their Paris-based legal team said in a statement that the release had "ended their arbitrary detention which lasted 1,277 days".
'Political analysts are speculating on whether this could be an exchange'
© France 24
01:03
01:03
'State hostages'
The release comes at a time of acute sensitivity in dealings between Tehran and the West in the wake of Israel's 12-day June war against the Islamic republic and the reimposition of UN sanctions in the standoff over the Iranian nuclear drive.
Kohler and Paris were the last two French citizens officially known to be held by Tehran after several other French nationals were released over the last months.
France has described them as "state hostages".
Their sentences on charges of spying for France and Israel issued last month after a closed-door trial amounted to 17 years in prison for Paris and 20 years for Kohler.
Concern grew over their health after they were moved from Evin following an Israeli strike on the prison during the June war.
Kohler was shown in October 2022 on Iranian television in what activists described as a "forced confession", a practice relatively common for detainees in Iran which rights groups say is equivalent to torture.
Her parents Pascal and Mireille told AFP in a statement that they felt "immense relief" that the pair were now in a "little corner of France" even if "all we know for now is that they are out of prison".
'Fruit of French diplomacy'
Iran has said Kohler and Paris could be freed as part of a swap deal with France for Iranian Mahdieh Esfandiari.
Esfandiari, who was arrested in France in February, accused of promoting terrorism on social media, has been transferred to its embassy in Paris, according to Iran's foreign ministry.
"Our citizen in France, Ms Esfandiari, is now free, she is at our embassy, and hopefully, she will return once her trial is over," said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
She is to go on trial in Paris from January 13, but was released last month on bail by the French judicial authorities in a move welcomed by Tehran.
Asked by France 2 if there had been a deal with Tehran, Barrot declined to comment, saying their release had come about "as the fruit of the work of French diplomacy".
France had filed a case with the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the detention of Kohler and Paris, saying they were held under a policy that "targets French nationals travelling in or visiting Iran".
However, in September, the ICJ suddenly dropped the case at Paris's request, sparking speculation that closed-door talks were under way between France and Iran for their release.
Among the Europeans still jailed by Iran is Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmad Reza Djalali, who was sentenced to death in 2017 on espionage charges his family vehemently rejects.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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