This photograph shows portrait placards of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens formerly detained in Iran, displayed on a fence of the French National Assembly in Paris on March 11, 2026. MARTIN LELIEVRE / AFP
Two French nationals arrived in Paris on Wednesday, April 8, after spending more than three years in an Iranian prison on espionage charges, according to the French Foreign Ministry. Cécile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, arrived on a commercial flight, landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris shortly before 9:00 am. They were met on the tarmac by foreign ministry officials and were due to meet President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace, the source said.
The pair had been under house arrest at the French embassy in Tehran ever since being freed in November, with their fate even more uncertain after US-Israeli strikes on Iran started on February 28. "This is a relief for all of us and, of course, for their families," Macron said on X on Tuesday, thanking Oman for its mediation efforts.
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How French hostages Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris were released from Iran
