Lebanon: end of the joint visit by M. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Mme Alice Rufo, Minister Delegate attached to the Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans

M. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Mme Alice Rufo, Minister Delegate attached to the Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans, visited Lebanon on 17 and 18 October.

They had meetings with the President of the Lebanese Republic, Mr Joseph Aoun; the Prime Minister, Mr Nawaf Salam; the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mr Nabih Berri; and the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Haykal. Finally, the Minister Delegate had a meeting with the Minister of National Defence, Mr Michel Menassa.

The ministers reaffirmed France’s wholehearted support for the Lebanese authorities in their efforts to restore sovereignty, stability and functioning institutions throughout Lebanon’s territory and in the long term. In this regard, they emphasized the importance of strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces and effectively implementing the state monopoly on weapons, and France’s readiness to contribute to this goal.

They reiterated the need for the ceasefire to be observed, civilians and infrastructure to be protected and Lebanon’s territorial integrity to be respected. They reaffirmed France’s support for the efforts being made by the Lebanese authorities to achieve a lasting political solution, in the interests of Lebanon’s and the region’s stability.

With the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon due to be completed at the end of the year, the ministers stressed the need to create an international architecture to back Lebanon’s sovereignty – something essential in order to avoid a security vacuum and support the redeployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces and therefore the implementation of the Framework Agreement of 26 June 2026 and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. The ministers recalled that France is ready to play its full part in this. Together with the Lebanese authorities, they welcomed the European Union’s adoption on 12 October of the decision establishing the EU Support Mission to Lebanon, whose remit is to serve as a significant element in this new architecture.

Photo : Judith Litvine/MEAE