After more than three years behind bars in Iran, French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris have been released, bringing an emotional close to a saga that has strained diplomatic ties and drawn international scrutiny. French President Emmanuel Macron announced their release on November 4, 2025, expressing “huge relief” and welcoming the move as a “first step” toward their eventual return to France. The news was met with celebration in Paris, where their families, legal teams, and supporters had campaigned tirelessly for their freedom.
Kohler, 41, and Paris, 72, were arrested in May 2022 while visiting Iran on what their families insist was a tourist trip. Their detention quickly became a flashpoint between France and Iran, especially after Iranian authorities accused the pair of espionage, charging them with “working for French intelligence” and “cooperating with Israel.” According to Iranian state media, a Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced Kohler and Paris in October 2025 to a combined total of 63 years in prison—20 years for Kohler and 17 years for Paris—across multiple counts. Their families and the French government have consistently maintained their innocence, denouncing the charges as “unjustified and unfounded.”
Macron took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his relief, writing, “I welcome that first step.” He added that dialogue with Iranian authorities was ongoing to ensure Kohler and Paris could return to France “as soon as possible.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot echoed this sentiment, confirming on national television that the pair were “safe” at the French Embassy in Tehran while awaiting their “definitive release.” Barrot told France 2, “They are fine. They are obviously relieved and seem to be in good physical and mental health.” However, he declined to provide details about when the two might be allowed to leave Iran, emphasizing the sensitive nature of ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei confirmed the release on November 4, stating that Kohler and Paris had been granted conditional release on bail by a judge and would remain under supervision until the next stage of judicial proceedings. Baghaei did not elaborate further, but his comments, carried on the ministry’s Telegram channel, made it clear that their freedom was not yet absolute. “Two French citizens who were in jail for some time over security charges were released based on bail according to a verdict by related judge and they will be under supervision until next judicial stage,” he said.
Their release comes at a delicate time for relations between Iran and Western nations, many of which have accused Tehran of using foreign prisoners as bargaining chips—a claim Iran has always denied. France, in particular, has described Kohler and Paris as “state hostages,” and their case was emblematic of what Paris and several activists have called a deliberate strategy by Iran to extract concessions from the West. The pair are believed to be the last French nationals officially known to be held in Iran, following the release of several others in recent months.
Adding to the complexity, the release appears to have been part of a broader prisoner swap deal. Iranian authorities have long pressed Paris for the release of Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian national who was arrested in France in February 2025 on charges of “inciting terrorism online.” Last month, French authorities granted Esfandiari conditional release, placing her under judicial supervision and barring her from leaving French territory. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Esfandiari had been transferred to the Iranian embassy in Paris and would return to Iran once her trial concludes in January 2026. While French officials have been tight-lipped about the specifics of any deal, the timing and parallel developments have fueled speculation about a negotiated exchange.
France had previously filed a case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, accusing Iran of violating Kohler and Paris’s right to consular protection. However, in September 2025, France abruptly dropped the case, which the ICJ said was at Paris’s request. The move sparked further speculation that quiet, behind-the-scenes negotiations were underway to secure the pair’s release.
The ordeal of Kohler and Paris was marked by distressing developments. Their families described their despair after receiving a rare phone call from the detainees earlier this year. Human rights groups and legal advocates raised concerns about their health, especially after they were reportedly moved from Evin prison following an Israeli strike during a 12-day conflict in June 2025. Kohler, in particular, was shown in what activists described as a “forced confession” on Iranian television in October 2022—a practice rights organizations say amounts to psychological torture.
In a statement to AFP, the pair’s Paris-based legal team said that the release “ended their arbitrary detention which lasted 1,277 days.” Their families, who had maintained their innocence from the outset, expressed “immense relief” and gratitude to all those who worked for their freedom. “All we know for now is that they are out of prison,” Kohler’s parents, Pascal and Mireille, told AFP, adding that it felt like a “little corner of France” had been restored to them, even as uncertainty lingered about when the couple might finally return home.
The broader context of their detention and release cannot be ignored. Western governments and rights groups have pointed to a pattern of foreign nationals being detained in Iran on security-related charges, often after closed-door trials and with little transparency. Many see these cases as leverage in Iran’s complex interactions with the West, particularly amid ongoing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, regional conflicts, and sanctions. Tehran, for its part, has consistently rejected accusations of hostage-taking, insisting that judicial proceedings against foreign nationals are legitimate and based on national security concerns.
As of now, Kohler and Paris remain at the French Embassy in Tehran, technically under Iranian supervision pending the next judicial phase. French officials, including Foreign Minister Barrot, have promised to “spare no effort” to secure their definitive release and safe passage home. “It’s a first step towards their definitive release,” Barrot said, crediting French diplomacy for the breakthrough while refusing to confirm the details of any swap or negotiation.
The fate of other Europeans still detained in Iran, such as Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmad Reza Djalali—who faces a death sentence on espionage charges his family rejects—remains uncertain. For now, though, the release of Kohler and Paris offers a rare moment of relief and hope, even as it highlights the high human cost of diplomatic standoffs and the fragile nature of international justice.
