A French Student Who was Arrested and Detained in Tunisia Returns to Paris

A demonstration organized by Tunisian human rights activists against the restrictions on freedoms (EPA)
A demonstration organized by Tunisian human rights activists against the restrictions on freedoms (EPA)
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A French Student Who was Arrested and Detained in Tunisia Returns to Paris

A demonstration organized by Tunisian human rights activists against the restrictions on freedoms (EPA)
A demonstration organized by Tunisian human rights activists against the restrictions on freedoms (EPA)

A French student detained for weeks in Tunisia returned to Paris on Friday after weeks of top-level diplomatic discussions.

Victor Dupont, a 27-year-old completing a Ph.D. at Aix-Marseille University’s Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Islamic Worlds, arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport on Friday afternoon, 27 days after he was arrested in Tunis.

French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said that Dupont was released from prison on Tuesday and arrived back in France on Friday, The AP reported.

Dupont, who researches social movements and Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, was one of three French nationals arrested on Oct. 19. Authorities in recent years have arrested journalists, activists and opposition figures, but Dupont’s arrest garnered international attention and condemnation because of his nationality and because he wasn't known as a critic of the government.

It provoked concerns about the safety and security of foreigners in Tunisia, where rights and freedoms have gradually been curtailed under President Kais Saied.

Dupont's supporters, both at his university and in associations representing academics who work in the Middle East and North Africa, said that his research didn't pose any security risks and called the charges unfounded.

In a letter to Saied and Tunisia's Ministry of Higher Educations, associations representing French, Italian and British academics who work in the region said that Tunisia's government had approved Dupont's research and that the allegations against him “lack both founding and credibility.”

“We therefore condemn the extraordinary use of the military court system,” they wrote on Nov. 12.

Saied has harnessed populist anger to win two terms as president of Tunisia and reversed many of the gains that were made when the country became the first to topple a longtime dictator in 2011 during the regional uprisings that became known as the Arab Spring.

Tunisia and France have maintained close political and economic ties since Tunisia became independent after 75 years of being a French protectorate. France is Tunisia’s top trade partner, home to a large Tunisian diaspora and a key interlocutor in managing migration from North Africa to Europe.



Zelenskiy Hails ‘Positive Movement’ in Relations with US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during a meeting with members of the media on the outskirts of London, Britain, March 2, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during a meeting with members of the media on the outskirts of London, Britain, March 2, 2025. (Reuters)
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Zelenskiy Hails ‘Positive Movement’ in Relations with US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during a meeting with members of the media on the outskirts of London, Britain, March 2, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during a meeting with members of the media on the outskirts of London, Britain, March 2, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday there had been "positive movement" in cooperation with the United States that could lead to another meeting between the two sides soon.

Kyiv is eager to repair ties with its top military supporter against Russia's invasion after Zelenskiy publicly clashed with US President Donald Trump in the White House last week over how to end the war in Ukraine.

"Today our Ukrainian and US teams began working on a meeting. Andriy Yermak and Mike Waltz spoke," Zelenskiy said in his evening address, referring to his chief of staff and the US national security adviser.

"There is positive movement. We hope for the first results next week."

Yermak said on X he had "exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions" with Waltz, and that they had scheduled a meeting of Ukrainian and US officials "in the near future to continue this important work".

Both statements came just hours after CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the US had paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.