Macron welcomes home two French nationals freed after years in Iran jail

By Dominique Vidalon

PARIS, April 8 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday welcomed home two French nationals released after three and a half years in detention in Iran, calling their return "the end of a terrible ordeal."

Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, 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.

They were allowed to leave Iran on Tuesday, a surprise move that came as France sought to distance itself from the Middle East conflict, and arrived in Paris on Wednesday morning.

"We are delighted to welcome back Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris to France after three and a half years of hardship in Iran. It is a huge relief for all of us," Macron wrote on X after meeting and embracing the pair in the gardens of the Elysee palace.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have detained dozens of foreign and dual nationals in recent years, often on espionage-related charges. Rights groups and Western countries accuse Tehran of using foreign detainees as bargaining chips, which Iran denies.

Earlier in the day, Macron told French defense and security officials the release of the duo marked "the end of a terrible ordeal of three and a half years," and thanked Oman authorities for their mediation role.

After meeting with Macron, the pair, looking tired but in good spirits, spoke briefly to the press.

"We were under constant threat. We had no right to read, no right to write. As soon as we left our cell, we were blindfolded," Paris said. "Obviously, one of the objectives was undoubtedly to break us. For us, it is a new beginning. We are not broken. We will speak up and we will enjoy life."