French authorities have received a video recording showing that two journalists held hostage by the Taliban for almost a year in Afghanistan are alive, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier, television journalists for France 3, were captured on Dec. 29 last year in Kapisa province, northeast of the capital Kabul, along with their Afghan driver and translator.
A foreign ministry spokesman said the tape had been authenticated and dated "in all likelihood from November".
He declined to give additional details.
In April, the Afghan Taliban demanded the release of a prisoner in exchange for the journalists and issued a video in which the reporters said their captors would kill them unless the terms were met.
Speaking on France 2, a television official said the tape, which had been seen by its sister channel France 3, showed the journalists addressing their families.
France has eight nationals held overseas including five in Mali and one in Somalia.
