Kidnapped French tourist freed in Pakistan

PARIS - A French tourist who had been kidnapped in May in southern Pakistan was freed, authorities here said Friday.

“I was delighted to learn of the announcement of the release of our compatriot who had been held hostage in Pakistan,” Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a statement.

Antoine Falsaperla, 41, was kidnapped from a French tourism group May 23 in the area where Al Qaeda and the Taliban operate.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was “delighted and extremely relieved” over the release of the hostage, according to a statement from the president’s office.

Sarkozy thanked the Pakistani authorities for their “decisive help” in freeing the man.