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Former French Detainees Participate in Ceremony to Remove Protest Portraits from Paris Parliament Gates
Jacques Paris and Cécile Kohler participated in a ceremony at France's parliament on April 14, 2026, to remove their portraits affixed to urge their release from Iran. The event followed their celebration at the Elysée Palace on April 8, marking the end of nearly four years in detention. Other returned detainees described struggles with isolation and rebuilding lives upon return.
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Jacques Paris and Cécile Kohler, French prisoners recently freed from Iran, took part in a ceremony at France's parliament in Paris on April 14, 2026, to remove portraits of them that were affixed to the gates of the legislature to urge their release.
On April 8, 2026, Jacques Paris celebrated the end of nearly four years in detention in Iran alongside Cécile Kohler in the gardens of the Elysée Palace. ' In the gardens of the Elysée Palace on April 8, Jacques Paris celebrated, alongside Cécile Kohler, the end of nearly four years in detention in Iran.
The phrase expressed their relief.
Le Monde reported that Lennart Monterlos, aged 19, was arrested in 2025 while on a cycling trip in Iran and spent four months in detention. Upon his return, Lennart Monterlos spent one night at the Bégin military hospital in Saint-Mandé southeast of Paris. He then chose to go home the next day to Besançon in eastern France.
Lennart Monterlos said 'You arrive, you're taken care of. And then, you're left to your own devices.' He added, 'Coming back was almost as hard as being detained. I felt isolated, with no desire to do anything.' Six months later, he slowly began returning to normal life – sports, seeing friends – but without regaining his bearings: 'I feel out of sync with everyone.'
Others also struggled with this disconnect. A detainee held from June to November 2025 in Venezuela was greeted on his return by the press and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot at Orly Airport. But there was no hospitalization. 'They gave him sleeping pills and a number to call,' recalled his father-in-law.
