France - Hostages in Niger Are Freed - NYTimes.com The four French hostages who were kidnapped three years ago in Niger by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have been released, President François Hollande of France said Tuesday. Mr. Hollande did not describe the conditions of the release of the hostages - Daniel Larribe, Pierre Legrand, Thierry Dol and Marc Féret - who were working for the French nuclear giant Areva, and Sogea-Satom, a subsidiary of the French construction group Vinci in Arlit, in northern Niger, when they were kidnapped in September 2010. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility and later posted videos showing that the men were alive. They were believed to have been kidnapped by Abu Zeid, the militant group's deputy commander, who was killed in an airstrike in Mali this year.