‘We are not broken,’ Frenchman back from Iran says at Elysee

French nationals Jacques Paris (L) and Cecile Kohler (R) who were freed by Iran after three and a half years in detention speak to the press as they are hosted by French President at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 8, 2026 (Tom Nicholson / POOL / AFP)
French nationals Jacques Paris (L) and Cecile Kohler (R) who were freed by Iran after three and a half years in detention speak to the press as they are hosted by French President at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 8, 2026 (Tom Nicholson / POOL / AFP)

A Frenchman who spent almost four years detained in Iran says after his return that he and his fellow detainee are “not broken” and would speak out about their ordeal.

“For us, this is a fresh start. We’re not broken,” Jacques Paris, 72, says at the Elysee Palace after he and Cecile Kohler, 41, met President Emmanuel Macron.

“We kept our hopes up right to the end,” says Kohler.

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