French teachers Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris said they had endured “inhumane” detention in Iran as they returned to France on Wednesday after nearly four years in custody on espionage charges.
The couple landed in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport shortly before 9am after travelling via Azerbaijan under diplomatic escort.
Speaking after meeting President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, Kohler said: “We are relieved to see our loved ones again. It was an immense joy to hold them in our arms.
“We want to express our gratitude to our families who fought from the very beginning to get us out of that hell. Even strangers fought for us across France,” she added, thanking state services.
Kohler said she had “lived daily horror” during her detention in Iran.
Paris said they had been held in “very difficult conditions”, describing “inhumane conditions of detention”.
“One of the aims was probably to break us, to crush us, to take away all our energy. And today, we can tell you that we are not broken,” he said.
Paris added that he now wanted to “enjoy life” and move on from the detention, ending with the words: “Long live life.”
Macron had announced the pair's release on Tuesday, calling it “a relief for all of us” and thanking “the Omani authorities for their mediation efforts”.
On Wednesday, he said he was “extremely happy to see them arrive on French soil”, adding that their return marked “the end of a terrible ordeal”.
French couple held in Iran 'free and on their way to France', says Macron
Years in captivity
Kohler, 41, and Paris, 72, were arrested on 7 May 2022 on the final day of a tourist trip to Iran. They were later held, including at Tehran’s Evin prison, and sentenced in October 2025 to 20 and 17 years respectively on espionage charges.
Released last November, the pair were barred from leaving Iran and spent the next five months under house arrest at the French embassy in Tehran.
They left Tehran at dawn on Tuesday with the French ambassador in a diplomatic convoy, travelling to the Azerbaijani capital Baku before flying on to Paris on a commercial flight.
Martin Pradel, their lawyer, told France's BFMTV that he was very happy and relieved by the announcement, and that it was very moving because of what they had been through.
“We are waiting for their return to France to hold them in our arms,” Anne-Laure Paris, the daughter of Jacques Paris, told AFP.
Fate of French prisoners in Iran unclear after French court convicts Iranian woman
Sensitive talks
The release of the couple followed what the Élysée described as a “very long-term effort”.
The French presidency said Macron had spoken with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian after war broke out in Iran on 28 February. “At each call, he clearly reiterated our expectations,” it said.
A source close to Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told AFP that the broader situation had played a role.
“What made it possible to secure their release is the current situation,” the source said, adding that “this was probably decisive, but the dynamic was already underway”.
“If something dramatic had happened to our compatriots, the reaction would have been fierce,” the source added.
Barrot referred to “sensitive discussions, by nature confidential and which must remain so”, when asked about possible concessions, insisting that “in no way did we link the fate of our hostages to France’s foreign policy choices”.
Iran has repeatedly detained Western nationals on espionage charges, often in cases Western governments describe as politically motivated.
At the height of tensions with Paris, Tehran was holding up to seven French nationals at the same time. None remain in detention now.
(with AFP)
