This photograph shows portrait placards of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens detained in Iran, set up on a fence of the French National Assembly.Martin Lelievre/AFP via Getty Images

French hostages in Iran head home ahead of Trump ultimatum – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said two French nationals who had been detained in Iran for years left the country just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump’s impending deadline for Tehran to cut a deal with the United States or face civilizational erasure.

Cécile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, spent more than three years behind bars in Iran after being convicted of espionage, charges Paris has long said were spurious. The duo, both teachers, were released in November but kept under de facto house arrest in the French embassy in Tehran.

“It’s a relief for all of us and of course for their families,” Macron wrote on X. The French leader also praised Oman’s mediation efforts to obtain the pair’s release.