France – Ouest France, May 07, 2025
Demonstrations were held across France on Wednesday, May 7, to demand the release of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been imprisoned in Iran for exactly three years.
Signs and banners reading “Freedom for Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris” were seen throughout the country. According to AFP, numerous gatherings took place nationwide in support of the two French nationals detained in Iran since May 7, 2022.
Cécile Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher from eastern France, and her partner Jacques Paris, in his seventies, were arrested on the last day of a tourist trip to Iran.
Accused of “espionage” by Iranian authorities and considered “state hostages” by the French government, they are officially the last two French nationals still imprisoned in Iran, which holds around 20 Western detainees.
They are currently held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, in Section 209, which is designated for political prisoners.
Family Denounces ‘Arbitrary’ Detention
In cities including Laval, Lyon, Lille, and Paris, hundreds gathered in protest. In the capital, Kohler’s sister and parents attended the rally to demand the release of both detainees, who are reportedly suffering severe psychological effects.
Their detention is “arbitrary,” and the “relentless imprisonment they are subjected to, especially given their clear innocence and the absurdity of the charges, is unbearably brutal,” said Noémie Kohler, Cécile’s sister.
