PARIS – In a long-awaited breakthrough that eases months of diplomatic tension between France and Iran, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed Tuesday that two French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, have finally been permitted to depart Iran and are now en route to France. The pair had been confined to French diplomatic facilities in Tehran since their release from Iranian prison last November, after being held for more than three years on disputed spying charges that France has repeatedly dismissed as baseless.
Macron announced the development in an official post on X, writing, “Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and on route toward French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran.” This green light for their departure, a diplomatic outcome France has pursued for months, comes amid escalating regional tensions following the recent outbreak of cross-border conflict between Israel and Iran. The agreement signals a notable instance of diplomatic outreach between Tehran and Paris, even as the region grapples with broader conflict. Macron has maintained that France remains uninvolved in the regional hostilities, noting the country was not consulted in advance on U.S.-Israel strikes and has no desire to be drawn into the war.
The full prisoner swap agreement, confirmed by both Iranian state media and French officials, sees Iran release Kohler and Paris in exchange for France allowing Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari to leave the country. Esfandiari was convicted by a French court in February 2024 on charges of inciting terrorism over comments she made regarding the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Tehran has pushed for her release since last year, and negotiations on the swap have been underway for months.
Macron extended official gratitude to Oman for its key role as a mediator in brokering the deal, calling the outcome a major relief for the pair and their families. “It’s a relief for us all and obviously for their families,” Macron wrote.
Kohler and Paris, both tourists, were first arrested during a trip to Iran in May 2022. After their imprisonment, Iran rejected international calls for their release, while France repeatedly condemned their detention as arbitrary and unjustified, publicly accusing Iran of pursuing a “hostage policy” of detaining foreign citizens to use as diplomatic bargaining chips – an allegation Tehran has consistently denied.
Following their release from prison in November 2024, Iranian authorities refused to grant them exit visas, leaving them sheltering in the French Embassy in Tehran for months. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed in an X post Tuesday that he had spoken directly to the pair, who shared their overwhelming emotion and joy at the prospect of reuniting with their loved ones back in France. “They are definitively FREE,” Barrot wrote. He also thanked France’s ambassador and on-the-ground diplomatic staff in Tehran for supporting and protecting the pair “under very difficult conditions.”
Diplomatic contacts between the two countries accelerated after the latest regional conflict broke out in early March. Macron became the first Western leader to hold talks with newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on March 8, and the two leaders have spoken two additional times by phone since, with Macron repeatedly pushing for the immediate return of the two French citizens. Negotiations on the final swap framework advanced steadily through September, when Iranian Foreign Minister confirmed the two sides were close to a final deal. That same month, France officially halted proceedings against Iran at the International Court of Justice, where it had brought a case alleging Tehran violated international consular protections for the two detainees. Court records confirm France requested the full discontinuance of the proceedings as part of the swap agreement.