![France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the annual conference of French ambassadors at the International Conference Centre of the French Foreign Affairs ministry in Paris on January 6, 2025. [Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2192158323-1.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
France will file a complaint against Iran at the International Court of Justice for what it says is a violation of its obligation to grant consular protection to French nationals detained in Iran, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said today.
“Today, I am filing a complaint before the International Court of Justice against Iran for violating its obligation to grant the right to consular protection,” Barrot said in an interview with France 2 television.
Barrot said two French citizens detained in Iran for three years had been “deprived of” visits from embassy representatives.
Cecile Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher, and her companion Jacques Paris were arrested on 7 May, 2022, during a trip to Iran, according to French media. They are accused by Iranian authorities of espionage. Paris, however, considers them “state hostages.”