Iran frees French citizen held since 2022, Macron says

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 announces.

Grondeau, 34, “is free and with his loved ones,” Macron writes on X, adding that “our mobilization will not weaken” to ensure the release of French citizens Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who still detained by Iran.

Olivier Grondeau est libre, en France, parmi les siens ! Nous partageons l'immense bonheur et soulagement de sa famille.

Je remercie tous les services de l'État, notre ambassadeur en Iran et le Centre de Crise et de Soutien du Quai d'Orsay, de leur action décisive.…

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 20, 2025

Paris says it views the arrests as state hostage-taking.

Macron does not say what, if anything, France gave Iran in return for Grondeau’s release.