French nationals leave Iran after three and a half years amid softer France tone on war

By John Irish

PARIS, April 7 (Reuters) - Two French nationals were heading home on Tuesday after Iran allowed them to leave the country following three and a half years in detention, a surprise move that came as Paris sought to distance itself from the war in the region.

Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris had been confined to France's embassy in Tehran since November, after being held since 2022 in the notorious Evin prison on spying charges that France has said were unfounded.

"This is a relief for all of us and obviously for their families," President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X. "Thank you to the Omani authorities for their mediation efforts."

Neither the French presidency nor the foreign ministry responded to requests for comment on what had been agreed between the two sides to ensure their release.

Iran's official news agency IRNA said the couple were freed following an understanding under which France would in turn release Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian student living in the French city of Lyon, and withdraw a complaint against Iran at the International Court of Justice.

However, both assertions were unclear. Esfandiari, who was convicted at the end of February for glorifying terrorism in social media posts, was released after serving almost a year in prison but has appealed the conviction.

It was not clear whether she had left the country, as ordered by the February ruling. France dropped the ICJ complaint last September.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spoke with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot on Sunday, confirming the pair’s imminent release.

Macron has criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and said France would only help restore freedom of navigation to the Strait of Hormuz once there is a ceasefire and after consultations with Tehran.

France last week refused Israel permission to transfer weapons through French airspace for the war and has led efforts to water down a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that could have opened the door to forceful action in the strait.

A French official briefing reporters after the release denied that France had a softer position towards Iran and said Paris had warned the Iranians about the safety of their citizens given the escalation in the war.

"I think the Iranians rightly considered that if anything happened to our compatriots, the reactions here would have been extremely catastrophic," the official said, declining to comment on the details of the negotiation.

French officials have also refused to comment on why a container ship belonging to French shipping group CMA CGM was able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a sign that Iran may not consider France to be a hostile nation.