French couple released after three years in prison in Iran

Strained relationships

French couple released after three years in prison in Iran

Two Frenchmen were imprisoned in Iran for several years. France accused Tehran of holding them as “state hostages.” They are not yet home, but they can breathe a sigh of relief.

A French couple has been released after more than three years in prison in Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris were on their way to the French embassy in Tehran. “The dialogue is continuing to enable their return to France as quickly as possible,” said Macron. He praised the move and wrote of it being an “immense relief.”

France had long demanded the release of the two and accused the Iranian government of holding the French as “state hostages”.

Kohler and Paris were arrested in May 2022 while traveling in Iran. According to French media, both are teachers, but he is already retired. According to informed sources in Tehran, the couple met with Iranian trade union activists – a possible reason for their arrest. In mid-October, Iran’s judiciary sentenced her to 17 and 20 years in prison for espionage.

Human rights activists and activists have been accusing the Iranian leadership of so-called “hostage diplomacy” for years – the arrest of Western citizens in order to free Iranian officials abroad. The government in Tehran firmly rejects the allegations and mostly bases the arrests on suspicion of espionage.

Only two weeks ago, Iranian citizen Mahdieh Esfandiari was released from prison in France and placed under house arrest, according to Tehran. According to the Paris public prosecutor’s office, Esfandiari has been in French custody since spring 2025. She was accused of glorifying acts of terrorism on social networks – in particular the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. According to observers, the releases of the other citizens could be a prisoner exchange.

France had toughened its tone towards Tehran in recent months in order to put pressure on the French who were being held. In January, Iran’s ambassador was summoned to Paris. In March, a Frenchman was released after 887 days in prison in Iran. Against the backdrop of the nuclear dispute with the West, relations between European countries and Iran’s government have sunk to a new low. A German-French man was also recently released.