French President Macron reaffirms support for Lebanon amid ongoing regional crisis

PARIS (CN) — On Tuesday evening in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in a “time of trial” as the country navigates a fragile 10-day ceasefire with Israel.

“The achievement of a temporary ceasefire a few days ago is a relief after several weeks of a deadly conflict that Lebanon and the Lebanese people did not seek,” Macron said in a press conference. “It is also proof that the courageous approach pursued by [the Lebanese] government is the right one … It is the diplomatic path, through the direct discussions that Lebanon proposed to hold with Israel and which France has supported unreservedly, that can bring tangible results for the Lebanese people.”

Salam expressed his “immense gratitude” for France’s humanitarian and military help, and said the central objective of his government is to get the state back on its feet. As he spoke, Macron watched attentively from his side with a firm smile.

“Furthermore, there cannot be a state worthy of the name with a law that applies to A and not B, with some people subject to the law and others standing outside of the law,” Salam added.

According to the Élysée Palace, the two leaders met privately before the press conference to reaffirm the depth of the “bonds of friendship” between France and Lebanon, as well as “France’s enduring commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability.” Economic reforms aimed at boosting autonomy were also part of the discussion.

On Tuesday afternoon, reporters lined up outside of the Élysée Palace, prompting a journalist to quip that there must be a huge crisis if so many people showed up. Royal guards were stationed in the courtyard as the two leaders met behind closed doors.

The meeting coincided with a tense moment for both Lebanon and France, which lost a UNIFIL soldier serving on a peacekeeping mission there on April 18. But Macron’s focus was largely on ensuring a durable ceasefire and lasting territorial sovereignty.

“Mechanisms exist to ensure the implementation of the ceasefire, but this lasting stabilization, the truce must be extended in order to allow for the start of a genuine stabilization dynamic,” Macron said to reporters. “But this lasting stabilization of Lebanon and the region can only be achieved through an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, the disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese themselves with the support of the international community, and the reconstruction of Lebanon — particularly southern Lebanon — to allow for the return of all displaced people.”

While Macron condemned Hezbollah’s “major strategic error” of “dragging Lebanon into the war,” he also urged Israel to “renounce its territorial ambitions” and criticized its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.

“It is obvious that if Israel continues this policy, which fundamentally contradicts its very history, we cannot act as if nothing were happening,” Macron said.

Experts argue France has now been taking a more proactive role in the conflict. Ever since the U.S. and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iranon Feb. 28, which triggered a full-blown regional crisis, Macron had been toeing a delicate line between denouncing the attacks as a violation of international law and condemning the Iranian regime.

“We’ve seen it sort of moving from a position of not neutrality, but balance, to one that’s now very much putting its weight behind the Lebanese government,” Neil Quilliam, an associate fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, explained. “It’s also putting its weight behind the U.S.-led initiative of bringing the Lebanese government and Israeli government together for negotiations.”

There are also historical elements at play. France has had a relationship with Lebanon for centuries; in 1250, the French King Saint Louis made a promise to always protect the Maronites in Lebanon, according to Michel Fayad, a professor of geopolitics at the French Institute of Petroleum.

“Since then, the relationship has always been very strong between both,” he said.

The relationship continued through Napoleon III’s reign, when he sent troops to help Christians in the region in 1860. And in more recent history, the League of Nations assigned France with a mandate for Lebanon in 1920.

“And in 1943, Lebanon became independent, but France remained a very close friend,” Fayad said. “You know, most Lebanese people speak French and a lot of Lebanese live in France — we’re talking about 300,000 people.”

According to Maxime Lefebvre, a diplomat and professor of international relations at the ESCP business school, the bond between the two nations continued to strengthen into recent decades, when the U.N. established a force on the territory in 1978. While France typically doesn’t have a huge presence in U.N. peacekeeping missions, it currently has 700 soldiers stationed in Lebanon.

“It views itself really as a kind of guarantor of Lebanon’s sovereignty and pluralistic identity, and we often see that becomes more visible during times of crisis,” Quilliam said. “So in the past, we’ve seen it intervene and try to balance out the different interests of the different communities.”

Throughout his presidency, Macron has made consistent attempts to maintain a strong bond with Lebanon. In 2020, after 218 people were killed following an explosion in Lebanon, he was the first foreign leader to visit the country.

“There’s a kind of historical legacy there, and the relationship is strong culturally, politically, and economically,” Quilliam said. “And I think it forms part of France’s role in international relations as being an important and key player internationally within the Med(iterranean), and there’s still some kind of paternalistic affection towards the country.”

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