French journalist Olivier Dubois, ex-hostage in the Sahel, arrived in France and was welcomed by Emmanuel Macron

A long-awaited return. French journalist Olivier Dubois, hostage for nearly two years of jihadists in Mali, landed in France on Tuesday March 21, after his release on Monday. Olivier Dubois was welcomed shortly after noon by his relatives and by President Emmanuel Macron at the Villacoublay air base, southwest of the capital.

Dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt and black pants, a shoulder bag, he appeared very smiling and in good shape after five hours of travel from Niamey (Niger). He was to find his wife and children in the process and then speak for a few minutes with the Head of State.

“I want to say that I was not abused or humiliated or hit or anything,” declared the journalist, shortly after his arrival in France. “There were difficult moments but not physical as some have experienced”.

“It’s huge for me to be here”

He had met journalists on Monday shortly after his release, accompanied by Jeffery Woodke, an American humanitarian who had been kidnapped on October 14, 2016 in Niger and who was released at the same time as the French journalist.

Olivier Dubois was kidnapped on April 8, 2021 in Gao, in northern Mali, by GSIM, the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel linked to Al-Qaeda. He collaborated in particular with the daily newspaper Release and the magazine Point and lived in Mali since 2015. “It’s huge for me to be here, to be free, I wanted to pay tribute to Niger for its know-how in this delicate mission and to pay tribute to France and to all those who allowed me to be here today”he said on Monday.