French Personalities Call for Firmness Against the Regime and Support for the Iranian Resistance
Source: Marianne (France), July 22, 2025
By: Collective Op-Ed authored by prominent French political, legal, and civil society figures
In a powerful joint op-ed published by the French weekly Marianne on July 22, 2025, a group of high-profile French public figures called on the international community to reject both appeasement and military intervention in dealing with Iran’s theocratic regime. Instead, they urge recognition of the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations and the organized resistance that represents the country’s only viable path toward freedom and stability.
“A Standing People Is the Real Force for Change”
Titled “C’est au cœur même de l’Iran que réside la véritable force de changement : un peuple debout” (“The True Force for Change Lies Within Iran: A Standing People”), the piece is signed by a range of notable French personalities, including Yves Bonnet, Jean-Pierre Brard, and Gilbert Mitterrand. It strongly denounces decades of failed Western policy, which has prioritized diplomacy with the regime over support for the Iranian people.
“For nearly fifty years, international relations with Iran have been reduced to a binary logic,” the authors write, “in which Europe and the United States have multiplied their attempts at compromise with the theocratic regime, too often sacrificing democratic principles on the altar of diplomatic pragmatism.”
Firmness in the Face of Regime Blackmail
The article responds to Tehran’s latest accusations against French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been detained and accused of espionage on behalf of Israel. The authors stress that France must respond with the utmost firmness and refuse to submit to the regime’s blackmail. The piece also notes a broader wave of arrests inside Iran, aimed at suppressing dissent and preempting popular uprisings.
The signatories remind readers that after the Iran-Iraq war, the regime executed thousands of political prisoners under the pretext of espionage. Today, they argue, Tehran is using the same tactics to intimidate both domestic opposition and international actors.
The Failure of Strategic Blindness
Calling out decades of Western “strategic blindness,” the authors criticize both diplomatic appeasement and military adventurism as failed approaches. “Diplomatic complacency has not prevented terrorism, hostages, or war,” they argue, “and the military interventionists must also understand that regime change cannot be parachuted in from abroad.”
Referencing past illusions, the text warns against the fantasy of externally installing exiled figures such as the Shah’s son, calling it a relic of Cold War-era coups.
A Democratic Alternative from Within
The article emphasizes that the only credible path forward lies with the Iranian people themselves—particularly women, youth, and an organized internal resistance. Since 2017, Iran has witnessed at least five major uprisings, all rooted in deep social discontent and widespread rejection of the regime.
“The claim that regime collapse would bring chaos is precisely what the dictator wants the world to believe,” the authors argue. On the contrary, they highlight the existence of a strong alternative: a grassroots movement centered around the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its main component, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
This organized opposition, they stress, has “thousands of Resistance Units” operating across the country, supported by a robust intelligence network and clear political vision grounded in democracy, secularism, gender equality, minority rights, and the abolition of the death penalty.
The Ten-Point Plan and the “Third Way”
This vision is encapsulated in the NCRI’s Ten-Point Plan, championed by its president-elect Maryam Rajavi, and endorsed by thousands of lawmakers and dignitaries worldwide. “We seek neither weapons nor money, only recognition of our people’s right to resist,” Rajavi is quoted as saying. “We do not aim to seize power at any cost—but to achieve liberty and justice at all cost.”
The article calls this strategy a “third way,” rejecting both war and appeasement. It places responsibility on the global community to acknowledge this movement and cease ignoring or maligning the forces of change from within Iran.
Signatories
- Dominique Attias – Lawyer; President, Council of European Lawyers; former Vice-President of the Paris Bar
- Pierre Bercis – Founder and President, Nouveaux Droits de l’Homme (New Human Rights)
- Yves Bonnet – Honorary Prefect; former Director of French Domestic Intelligence (DST); author
- Jean-Pierre Brard – President, French Committee for a Democratic Iran (CFID); former Member of Parliament and Mayor of Montreuil
- Jean-François Legaret – President, Middle East Studies Foundation (FEMO); former Mayor of Paris 1st arrondissement
- Gilbert Mitterrand – President, Danielle Mitterrand–France Libertés Foundation; former Member of Parliament
- Alain Néri – Former Member of Parliament and Vice-President of the National Assembly
- Gilles Paruelle – Lawyer; former President of the Bar, Val-d’Oise
- Frédéric Reiss – Former Member of Parliament for Bas-Rhin
As the article makes clear, time is running out for the international community to shift course. Supporting the Iranian people and their organized resistance is not only a moral imperative—it is the only realistic foundation for lasting peace and democracy in Iran.
