Seeking to avoid a regional conflagration, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, was to travel to Lebanon on Saturday December 16 and on Sunday to Israel and the occupied West Bank. A visit by President Emmanuel Macron to the 700 soldiers of the French contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), however, is no longer planned, notably for security reasons. For the “Christmas of the troops”, the head of state will travel to Jordan on December 21 and 22.
In close contact with Israel, France is intensifying its diplomatic efforts to try to prevent the opening of a second front between Hezbollah and the Jewish state while the war continues to rage in Gaza. Discussions are also being led by the Americans, notably by special envoy Amos Hochstein. French diplomats indicate that at this stage it is only a matter of “consultations” and not of a ” initiative “ or a “mediation” formal. “The goal is to listen to both parties and based on that, we will see the path that can be traced”assures a French source.
In Paris, we are convinced that the risk of a conflagration, following an incident, is real and can degenerate into a war, as in 2006, after a Hezbollah attack against an Israeli patrol on the border. Several emissaries have shuttled between Paris and Beirut since the end of November: the special envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the director of the DGSE, Bernard Emié, then a joint delegation from the Quai d’Orsay and the Ministry of armies. Without forgetting the successive visits of Catherine Colonna, a week after the attacks of October 7, and of the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, at the beginning of November. The French have also sent messages of moderation to Iran.
“A question of security for Israel”
Israeli officials insist that in view of the intense clashes on the Lebanese-Israeli border since the start of the war in Gaza, it is no longer possible to return to the status quo which has prevailed with Hezbollah since the 2006 war. “We will restore security to the population through an international political arrangement aimed at pushing Hezbollah beyond the [fleuve] Litani, based on UN Resolution 1701. If this arrangement fails, Israel will act militarily to push Hezbollah from the border.”threatened Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on December 7.
You have 55% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.