New Delhi, April 9 -- French former detainees Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris returned to France Wednesday after more than three years of detention in Iran, following weeks of talks with Tehran.

Kohler, 41, and Paris, 72, left by road on Tuesday, right before a tentative ceasefire between the United States and Iran was announced to halt fighting that has rocked the region since Feb. 28. Their release was hailed as a major diplomatic success by French authorities.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has attempted to distance his country from the Middle East conflict, welcomed them at the Elysee presidential palace.

Arrested on soying charged, they were released from prison in Iran in November. However, the two had been holed up in French dip...