Members of the Moulin-Fournier family were on their way back from Waza national park in northern Cameroon last Tuesday when they were kidnapped by armed men on motorbikes, The Guardian reports.
In a video that emerged on Monday, three adults can be seen sitting on the floor with the four children, aged five, eight, 10 and 12, in front of them.
A male hostage says they were taken by members of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram.
"They want the liberation of their brothers in Cameroon and their women imprisoned in Nigeria," the hostage said, reading from a written statement.
Guards can be heard saying they kidnapped the family in reaction to France's decision to send troops into Mali to oust Islamist rebels who had occupied the country’s northern area.
"The president of France has launched a war on Islam," one of the kidnappers said.
French government officials were working to verify the video's authenticity, Reuters reports.
If the video is confirmed to be of the Moulin-Fournier family, it will be the first pictures of them to be released since the kidnapping.
Boko Haram has reportedly denied any involvement.
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