00:00For Louis Arnaud and his family, it's the end of an almost two-year-long nightmare.
00:05Arnaud, one of four French citizens held in Iran since 2022, is finally free.
00:11On social media, Emmanuel Macron thanked Oman for helping to secure his release.
00:16He also urged Iran to free the three remaining French nationals held by Tehran.
00:21I would like to thank our Omani friends and all those who contributed to this happy outcome.
00:26Tonight, I am also thinking of Cecile, Jacques and Olivier.
00:29I call on Iran to release them immediately.
00:32Arnaud, a banking consultant in his 30s,
00:35had been held since September 2022 while travelling through the country.
00:40In November last year, he was sentenced to five years in prison on security charges
00:45after being accused of taking part in the protests that followed the death in custody of Massa Amini,
00:51accusations that his family deny.
00:53My son was arrested in a completely arbitrary way.
00:59He certainly has political ideas,
01:03but he is nowhere near the point of having pushed for demonstrations
01:07that could harm the Iranian regime.
01:11The release comes as relations between France and Iran have worsened in recent months,
01:16as Paris has mounting concerns over Iran's activities in the Middle East
01:20and the development of its nuclear programme.
01:23Three other French nationals are still being held in the country.
01:26Cecile Collard, a teacher, her partner Jacques Parry
01:30and a man named Olivier, whose surname has not been made public.
