French Trade Unionists Imprisoned in Iran: A Case of “Hostage Diplomacy”

Since May 2022, two French trade unionists, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, have been arbitrarily imprisoned in Iran, accused by the Islamic Republic authorities of espionage and fomenting unrest. Their detention, widely condemned at the time as “state hostage-taking” by France and international human rights organisations, highlights Iran’s controversial practice of detaining foreign nationals to exploit as leverage in its dealings with Western powers.   

CODIR remains concerned about the fate of these two brave trade unionists who have both fallen victim to the theocratic regime’s sinister designs. They are innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever and must be released immediately and unconditionally.   

Who are Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, and why were they in Iran?

Cécile Kohler, a high school teacher and a staffer at France’s FNEC FP-FO education union, and her partner Jacques Paris, a retired mathematics teacher, were in Iran as tourists on a holiday. They were arrested on 7 May 2022 as they prepared to leave the country. The Iranian authorities claim the couple had been under continued surveillance since their very arrival in the country.   

During their trip, Kohler and Paris reportedly met with Iranian trade unionists. While France maintains these were innocuous social meetings within the wider context of the couple’s holiday, Iranian regime-controlled media outlets in Iran published photographs and certain extracts obtained from the couple’s conversations and communications with their Iranian friends to conjure a damning case against them. These reports alleged that the pair had established an “organised and coordinated” channel to be used to provoke Iranian trade unionists into escalating their activities and thereby prepare the ground for “revolution and the overthrow of the regime”. In October 2022, amid the nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” popular uprising, Iranian state television broadcast a video showing Kohler and Paris appearing to confess to spying, a tactic routinely denounced by human rights groups for what they are; “forced confessions” extracted under extreme duress.  

The Reasons for their Imprisonment and France’s Struggle for Release

The imprisonment of Kohler and Paris is widely seen as part of Iran’s broader strategy of “hostage diplomacy”. This involves the detaining of certain foreign nationals and dual nationals on security-related charges, often without any evidence or semblance of due process, to exert pressure on Western governments for concessions on their side, such as the release of Iranian nationals held abroad – or for leverage in negotiations over matters of material interest to Iran, such as those over its nuclear development programme.  

France has vehemently denied the espionage charges against Kohler and Paris, labelling them as “utterly baseless”. And French officials, including President Emmanuel Macron, have consistently referred to the pair as “state hostages”. Their conditions of detention in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison have been described by French authorities as “inhumane” and “tantamount to torture under international law”, with reports of constant lighting and glare (to prevent sleep and induce disorientation), limited outdoor access, as well as prolonged and intense psychological pressure.   

Despite its continued efforts, France has faced significant challenges in securing their release. The French government has engaged in negotiations, summoned Iran’s ambassador, and roundly denounced the arbitrary nature of their detention. In a significant move, France filed a case against Iran at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in May 2025, accusing Tehran of unlawfully detaining its citizens for three years and violating international law, specifically the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. This legal action aims to pressure Iran and uphold international law, though diplomats acknowledge it is unlikely to yield immediate results.   

The case of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris remains a stark example of the complex and often fraught diplomatic relations between Iran and Western countries, whose ordinary civilians can be made unwitting pawns in the geopolitical brinksmanship and manoeuvring between Iran and the West. Their families continue to mobilise, and advocate for their immediate and unconditional release. And CODIR joins with these calls and supports them unequivocally.

CODIR has called for maximum international solidarity of trade unionists globally with the two French trade unionists currently imprisoned in Iran.

Jamshid Ahmadi, CODIR’s Assistant General Secretary, called on trade unions and labour rights organisations internationally to continue to express solidarity with Kohler and Paris. Mr Ahmadi, himself a lifelong trade union activist, said, “Issuing solidarity statements, organising protests, and advocating for the two French trade unionists’ release through their global networks, is an absolutely necessary action plan that CODIR supports without reservation.”

“We must ensure that Kohler and Paris feel that we haven’t forgotten their plight and that they are reassured we stand with them. We are more than familiar with the baseless charges laid against the pair, a standard tactic deployed by this roundly discredited and unpopular regime. They are manifestly not spies, are completely innocent of the fabricated charges tabled against them and must be released immediately and unconditionally,” continued Mr. Ahmadi. 

Ultimately, a sustained, coordinated, and multifaceted approach from the international community, combining diplomatic pressure, legal action, and public advocacy, offers the best hope for the securing of the release of Cécile Kohler, Jacques Paris, as well as other arbitrarily detained foreign nationals in Iran.

CODIR remains committed to the campaign for the release of our French comrades held unfairly in captivity in Iran.  

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