Four French hostages held by the Islamic Emirate of Iraq and the Levant ("Daesh") were freed on April 19, 2014 and arrived in France on April 20 where they were greeted by President François Hollande and Foreign Affairs Minister, Laurent Fabius.

Journalists Edward Elias (Europe 1), Didier François (Europe 1), Nicolas Henin (freelance) and Peter Torres (documentary maker) were kept prisoners for 10 months.

According to Alain Marsaud, MP for French citizens overseas covering a constituency that includes Syria, they were held hostage by a group allied with France against the Syrian state (which explains why they were well treated and and are in good health). They were seemingly released thanks to the intervention of the Emirati intelligence services, probably in exchange for arms deliveries.