Iran frees French citizen after prison ordeal: Macron

PARIS: Iranian authorities have released French citizen Olivier Grondeau, detained by the country since October 2022 on security charges, and he has returned to France, President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday.

Grondeau, 34, “is free and with his loved ones”, Macron wrote on X, adding that “our mobilisation will not weaken” to ensure the release of two other French citizens still detained by Iran in what Paris views as state hostage-taking.

Macron did not give further details on the circumstances of Grondeau’s release after an almost 900-day ordeal.

The other two French nationals are Cecile Kohler, a teacher, and her partner, Jacques Paris, who were detained in May 2022. They are accused of seeking to stir up labour protests, accusations their families have denied.

Also writing on X, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted a picture of Grondeau on a plane returning home, saying: “Held hostage in Iran for 887 days, he has been reunited with his family, loved ones, and his country. It’s a huge relief.”

Grondeau was arrested in Shiraz, southern Iran, in October 2022 and sentenced to five years in prison for “conspiracy against the Islamic republic”.

His family rejected the charges, describing Grondeau as a passionate fan of Persian poetry who went to Iran on a tourist visa as part of a world tour.

Western countries have for years accused Iran of detaining their nationals on trumped-up charges in a policy of state hostage-taking to use them as bargaining chips to extract concessions.

France describes its nationals held by Iran as “state hostages” who have been arbitrarily detained and are innocent of all the charges against them.

Strength ‘running out’

Until earlier this year, Grondeau had been identified only by his first name but his full identity was revealed by his family in January.

In an audio message aired by French media at the time, Grondeau said he and the other two French detainees in Iran were “exhausted” and their strength was “running out”.

Grondeau, who turns 35 next week, remains in hospital in France undergoing a battery of tests, having been severely weakened in recent months, particularly psychologically, a government source told AFP, asking not to be named.

It was not immediately clear when he returned to France.

There has been growing concern over the health of two other French citizens held by Iran, with Kohler’s family warning that they risked dying if they were not freed.

“Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris must be freed from Iranian prisons,” Macron said in his message Thursday.