French journalist Romeo Langlois arrived in Paris Friday morning, two days after his release from a month-long kidnapping in Colombia.
Family and two French ministers were there to welcome Langlois when he landed at the Charles de Gualle airport on an Air France flight, the journalist’s network, France 24 reported.
Minister of Culture and Communication Aurélie Filippetti and Development Minister Pascal Canfin, who led international cooperation for Langlois’ release, greeted Langlois.
His mother, Aline Langlois, watcher her son’s release live at the France 24 headquarters in Paris, the agency reported, and said she was “very, very happy.”
“We started to feel things were going in the right direction a few days ago, and now we’re just happy. I would like to add that during all this time we were able to face the situation relatively calmly, because we received enormous support. We have been very well informed, which helped us a lot to cope with the situation.”
Langlois was freed Wednesday after spending a month in remote jungle as a hostage of Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, the FARC.
He was captured April 28 while reporting on Colombia’s anti-narcotic operations.
France 24 reported that Langlois criticized the FARC for using him in a “political game” to gain publicity, though he told media upon his release that he had been treated well by the rebels.