After more than three years of detention in Iran, French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris were moved on 4 November to the French Residence within the embassy compound in Tehran. The Foreign Ministry hailed the development as a “first gesture” by Iranian authorities and confirmed that consular teams are now working on medical checks and travel documents to fly the pair home.
Kohler and Paris, both teachers, were arrested in May 2022 on accusations of fomenting unrest. Their release into embassy custody is the result of prolonged shuttle diplomacy led by Paris’s Crisis and Support Centre, with support from EU mediators in Muscat and Doha. Although not yet free to leave Iran, the transfer removes them from Evin Prison and places them under French protection pending exit permits.
![France secures humanitarian transfer of detained teachers from Iranian prison]()
From a mobility-risk perspective, the case illustrates the diplomatic avenues available when citizens are detained abroad and reinforces the importance of registering business travellers and accompanying family members with the MEAE’s *Ariane* portal. Companies with operations in higher-risk jurisdictions should maintain crisis-response protocols and ensure that assignees understand local protest laws and media restrictions.
The episode may also ease the path for resumption of French academic exchange programmes with Iranian universities, many of which were suspended after the arrests. Universities France is already reviewing its travel-advice tier for staff researchers scheduled to attend conferences in Tehran and Isfahan in early 2026.
Officials cautioned that negotiations are ongoing and that no timeline has yet been set for the teachers’ repatriation. However, once the pair reach Paris, they are expected to receive post-trauma support through France’s dedicated victims-of-terrorism and hostage unit—services that multinationals can tap for employees caught in similar circumstances.
Kohler and Paris, both teachers, were arrested in May 2022 on accusations of fomenting unrest. Their release into embassy custody is the result of prolonged shuttle diplomacy led by Paris’s Crisis and Support Centre, with support from EU mediators in Muscat and Doha. Although not yet free to leave Iran, the transfer removes them from Evin Prison and places them under French protection pending exit permits.
From a mobility-risk perspective, the case illustrates the diplomatic avenues available when citizens are detained abroad and reinforces the importance of registering business travellers and accompanying family members with the MEAE’s *Ariane* portal. Companies with operations in higher-risk jurisdictions should maintain crisis-response protocols and ensure that assignees understand local protest laws and media restrictions.
The episode may also ease the path for resumption of French academic exchange programmes with Iranian universities, many of which were suspended after the arrests. Universities France is already reviewing its travel-advice tier for staff researchers scheduled to attend conferences in Tehran and Isfahan in early 2026.
Officials cautioned that negotiations are ongoing and that no timeline has yet been set for the teachers’ repatriation. However, once the pair reach Paris, they are expected to receive post-trauma support through France’s dedicated victims-of-terrorism and hostage unit—services that multinationals can tap for employees caught in similar circumstances.
