France – Le Monde, Mar. 07, 2026
The Iranian capital has been bombarded for a week by the Israeli and American militaries. The French are awaiting an exchange with an Iranian national, Mahdieh Esfandiari.
The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said on Saturday, March 7, that he had spoken with Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were released from detention in November and assigned to the French Embassy in Tehran, the Iranian capital, which has been under U.S.-Israeli strikes for the past week.
“I spoke with them today. They are going through a very difficult ordeal and, as for nearly four years, they are showing extraordinary courage,” the minister said on France 5. “We will continue to do everything to secure their immediate return to France and their definitive release,” he added, specifying that he had “sent messages” to his “Iranian counterpart” in this regard.
Mr. Barrot also spoke on Wednesday with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghtchi.
No evacuation of embassy staff
Jean-Noël Barrot ruled out, for now, the possibility of evacuating the French Embassy. “The diplomatic staff present in Tehran are carrying out their mission in a very difficult context, showing great dedication. And part of their mission is precisely to ensure the safety of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris. (…) They will continue to fulfill their mission. It is their honor,” he said.
Relatives of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris had expressed on Tuesday that they were “very worried” given the heavy bombardment hitting the Iranian capital.
After more than three years of detention, the two French nationals were sentenced last October to twenty and seventeen years in prison, respectively, for espionage, including for Israel. They were released in early November but were prohibited from leaving Iran. They are awaiting a potential exchange with an Iranian national, Mahdieh Esfandiari, whom French justice sentenced to one year in prison on February 26.
