France does not drop its nationals imprisoned in Iran.

This is the message that President Macron wanted to send on Saturday, December 3, when he denounced the "lies" of the Iranian authorities and the unjustifiable nature of these detentions.

In an interview with the daily Le Parisien, he assured that he had "put very firm pressure" on his counterpart on this subject.

“Many lies have been told” about the arrest of seven French people in Iran, protested the French president.

"These are compatriots who have come to Iran sometimes for academic or associative reasons. There is nothing that justifies their imprisonment, it is unacceptable in our eyes", he further pleaded, assuring that diplomacy French would continue to "fight to free them".

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Iranian aggressiveness

"I put very firm pressure on the Iranian president so that their rights are respected and that consular visits are possible. But above all, that we obtain their release as soon as possible", continued Mr. Macron.

Emmanuel Macron had already, three weeks ago, condemned Iran's "increasing aggressiveness" towards France.

Tension has risen between the two countries as France has repeatedly expressed its support for the Iranian demonstrators, and condemned the "ongoing repression" as well as the "multiple attacks on fundamental freedoms".

Thursday, Paris had thus deplored the summoning of its ambassador in Tehran to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in reaction to the adoption by the National Assembly, on November 28, of a resolution "providing the support of the National Assembly to the movement for freedom in Iran".

The same text demanded "the immediate release of French nationals arbitrarily detained" in Iran.

And during the session, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna castigated the Iranian regime's "massive use of arbitrary detention, censorship and violence".

With AFP

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