Four Frenchmen held captive for three years by an al-Qaeda offshoot in North Africa were reunited with their families yesterday , as sources said a ransom of at least €20 million (HK$213 million) had been paid.
The four men, kidnapped by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in northern Niger in 2010, flew into a military airport near Paris, where they were met by their families and President Francois Hollande.
Standing alongside the four on the tarmac, Hollande expressed his "immense joy" at their return, calling them "great French citizens who brought honour to France".
Thierry Dol, 32, Daniel Larribe, 62, Pierre Legrand, 28, and Marc Feret, 46, were kidnapped on September 16, 2010, from a uranium compound in Arlit where they working for French nuclear giant Areva and construction group Vinci.
French authorities announced on Tuesday they had been released and the four flew back to Paris from Niger's capital Niamey a day later.
Greeted by tearful family members, the men appeared thin but in good health.
Although offered the microphone by Hollande, none of the men chose to make a public statement. In a brief remark at the airport in Niger, Dol said: "It was very difficult, but it was the test of a lifetime."
A source close to the Nigerien negotiating team that secured the hostages' release said that, despite French denials, a ransom was paid. "Between €20 and €25 million was paid to obtain the release of the French hostages," the source said.
French newspaper Le Monde also quoted a source close to the negotiations as saying more than €20 million had been paid.
A number of top French officials denied any money was handed over, with a source in the French presidency saying: "France does not pay ransoms."
The hostages were apparently held in different locations to prevent them being freed in any French assault, and were brought together just days before the release.
Three other people who were kidnapped with them - Daniel Larribe's wife Francoise, a Togolese and a Madagascan - were freed in February 2011.
"It's an emotional wave, a tsunami," Francoise Larribe said of her husband's return. "I have never lost hope, even though there were moments of dejection, fear and anguish."
At least seven French hostages remain in captivity around the world. Hollande vowed the government would do everything to secure their release. "Today there is joy ... but there is still an unbearable wait for other families and other hostages," he said.
"Everyone pays, even the British," said Eric Denece, head of France's CF2R intelligence think tank. Britain led G8 efforts to impose a ban on ransom payments, saying they only encouraged kidnappings. "Ransoms, exchanges, or by force: There is no other way to free hostages," Denece said.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Hostages home after three years in captivity