On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron called for “everything” to be done so that Lebanon “is not dragged into war again.” Both Israel and the Lebanese pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah appealed to stop their military operations. In a post on social media, Macron confirmed that he spoke by phone with top Lebanese officials on Thursday about a plan to end military operations currently being carried out by Hezbollah and Israel on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border.
“Hezbollah must immediately cease firing towards Israel. Israel must renounce any ground operation or large-scale intervention in Lebanese territory,” Macron wrote. Macron called the current escalating situation a “moment of great danger” and called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to extend the war to Lebanon. “Everything must be done so that Lebanon is not dragged into war again,” Macron said in a post on the X network.
“The Lebanese have a right to peace and security. Just like everyone else in the Middle East,” he added. On Thursday afternoon, the Israeli army issued an unprecedented call for the immediate evacuation of the entire southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been under Israeli fire since Monday morning, when Lebanon was drawn into the regional war. A large part of the population of the Lebanese capital was seized by panic, and long lines of cars formed on the roads. In this context, Macron announced the immediate dispatch of humanitarian aid to the area and assured that France is supplying several tons of medicine to Lebanon.
Relations between Lebanon and France have deep historical roots and are among the closest between a European state and a Middle Eastern country. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, France gained control of what is now Lebanon under a League of Nations mandate. France administered it as a mandated territory in the years 1920–43, when political institutions, education and administration were formed. At the same time, France had historically close relations, especially with the Maronite Christians, who are among the main political elites of Lebanon.
