It’s a story that’s become all too familiar in the fraught world of international diplomacy: two French nationals, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, have found themselves at the center of a tense standoff between France and Iran, with their lives and freedom hanging in the balance. The pair, arrested in May 2022 while visiting Iran, were sentenced this week to lengthy prison terms on espionage charges—sentences their families and the French government insist are both arbitrary and unfounded.
According to multiple reports from Iranian state media and Western news outlets, the sentences were handed down by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran on October 14, 2025. Kohler, 41, and Paris, 72, were each given cumulative sentences totaling 63 years across multiple charges, including spying for France, conspiring against national security, and cooperating with Israel. However, under Iranian law, only the longest single term is served—meaning Kohler faces 20 years in prison and Paris 17 years. The preliminary verdict can be appealed to Iran’s Supreme Court within 20 days.
The details of the trial remain murky, as is often the case with Iran’s Revolutionary Court proceedings, which typically take place behind closed doors and limit defendants’ access to evidence and legal counsel. Defense lawyer Chirinne Ardakani noted the families have received no official notification of the verdict, calling the process “a farce, a comedy.” She added, “In the absence of access to the criminal file or an independent lawyer, we cannot verify whether any sentence has actually been pronounced.”
The families of Kohler and Paris, speaking at a press conference in Paris on October 16, painted a harrowing picture of their loved ones’ mental and physical state after more than three years in detention. Kohler’s sister, Noémie, described a rare eight-minute video call with the pair, held under heavy surveillance: “For the first time, they told us clearly that they can’t take any more. A few more weeks are beyond their strength.” Paris’s daughter, Anne-Laure, echoed those sentiments, quoting her father as saying, “I stare death in the face. It’s not possible anymore.” Both families insist that Kohler and Paris were only visiting Iran as tourists and are wholly innocent of the charges.
Their current whereabouts are unknown, following a transfer from Tehran’s Evin prison after an Israeli strike on the facility during the June 2025 war. This move has only heightened the anxiety for their families, who warn that their loved ones’ lives are at risk due to exhaustion and deteriorating health. “The French state is responsible, every day that goes by, for the survival of Cécile and Jacques,” Noémie Kohler told reporters, underscoring the sense of urgency and frustration felt by those closest to the detainees.
The French government has been vocal in its condemnation of the sentences and the circumstances of the pair’s detention. On October 16, French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux stated, “Both were arbitrarily sentenced just the day before yesterday to very long prison terms. The charges against them, whatever they may be, are completely unfounded. We call for their immediate release.” The French Foreign Ministry described the sentences as “arbitrary” and the charges as “totally unfounded,” reiterating France’s demand for their return.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also weighed in, recently expressing cautious optimism about the prospects for Kohler and Paris’s release. Macron cited a “solid prospect” of securing their freedom, though he emphasized the need for caution given the unpredictable nature of negotiations with Tehran. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot echoed this sentiment, saying last week, “We have strong prospects of bringing them home in the coming weeks,” though he provided no further details.
At the heart of the diplomatic standoff is the possibility of a prisoner exchange. Iran has repeatedly suggested that Kohler and Paris could be released as part of a deal involving Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian national detained in France since February 2025 on charges of promoting terrorism on social media. Tehran has described Esfandiari’s detention as arbitrary and pressed for her release, while Paris maintains her case is being handled according to French law. In September, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a deal to exchange the detainees was nearly complete. That same month, France withdrew its case against Iran at the International Court of Justice over the detention of Kohler and Paris, a move seen as a possible gesture toward reviving prisoner-exchange talks.
Human rights groups and Western governments have long accused Iran of using foreign detainees as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West. The practice, often described as “hostage diplomacy,” is not unique to the Kohler and Paris case. In 2022, British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were released after years in detention, following months of negotiations that saw the UK settle a decades-old debt to Iran. Iran, for its part, denies these allegations, insisting that all detainees are prosecuted according to Iranian law.
The current situation is further complicated by the fact that Kohler and Paris are just two among an estimated 20 Europeans currently detained in Iran, according to AFP. The list includes other high-profile cases, such as British couple Craig and Lindsay Foreman, who were detained in January 2025 during a motorcycling tour and later charged with espionage. Their family maintains their innocence and describes their detention conditions as “horrific.” Meanwhile, some detainees have seen better fortunes: last week, 18-year-old French-German cyclist Lennart Monterlos was released after an Iranian court acquitted him of espionage charges related to a June 2025 conflict.
The Iranian judiciary maintains that the trials of Kohler and Paris were conducted properly, stating that the defendants had access to lawyers and family contact during proceedings. However, both France and the detainees’ families dispute this, alleging that the pair have been denied proper consular protection and subjected to conditions akin to torture at Evin prison—claims Iran firmly rejects.
The broader diplomatic context remains tense. France’s decision to withdraw its International Court of Justice case and the ongoing talks between Macron and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signal a willingness to negotiate, but the outcome is far from certain. Iran’s hardline stance on foreign detainees, coupled with its insistence on reciprocity for its own nationals held abroad, has made progress slow and fraught with setbacks.
For the families of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, the situation is now existential. Their loved ones’ health is failing, their spirits are broken, and time is running out. As Noémie Kohler put it during the family’s emotional press conference, “It was a distress call. They told me they were exhausted. They are at the end of their tether.”
As the clock ticks down on the 20-day window for appeals, all eyes are on Paris and Tehran. The fate of Kohler and Paris will likely hinge on the delicate interplay of diplomacy, legal maneuvering, and—perhaps above all—the willingness of both sides to find common ground in a crisis that has already pushed two lives to the brink.