Séjourné on south Lebanon: 'Situation has deteriorated significantly'

BEIRUT — French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said the situation in southern Lebanon had deteriorated considerably, during in a speech at the Résidence des Pins, the French embassy in Lebanon, on Sunday. His comments came after a day of meetings with Lebanese officials as part of his second visit to the country since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel started on Oct. 8.

"A few weeks ago, we were talking about a risk, but today the escalation is very real," said the senior French official. "Preserving Lebanon is France's responsibility."

Fighting has intensified in recent weeks. Israel has been striking deeper and deeper into Lebanese territory and Hezbollah's missile and drone attacks have resulted in an uptick in damage, injuries and deaths in northern Israel.

"We refuse to accept the worst-case scenario (...) Nobody has any interest in escalation, including Hezbollah," Séjourné insisted, adding that his message was also addressed to Israel.

Séjourné indicated that the efforts undertaken to bring Resolution 1701 into full realization "will be all the more effective if the institutions are in place" and that "without a president and government in office, Lebanon will not be invited to the negotiating table."

Asked about the secretive proposal reportedly central to his visit and supposedly regarding possible negotiations around Lebanese-Israeli border fighting, Séjourné sidestepped the question. "We're in the middle of a discussion. Before my trip to Israel, I couldn't answer that question. But we've consulted the players in Lebanon, and we'll be consulting them in Israel." He noted, however, that he "can see from what the Lebanese authorities have said that we're on the right track."

In his speech, Stéphane Séjourné indicated that he had met with the heads of UNIFIL, which "plays a decisive role in preventing the worst-case scenario," believing that "all parties [should] enable it to carry out its mission".

"We continue to support the Lebanese Army, whose deployment in the South is necessary for stability," said the French minister, pointing out that in February, France had "proposed a roadmap which implies the full and complete application of UN Resolution 1701."

"Lebanese insights are fully taken into account in our efforts," he added.

Reporting contributed by Salah Hijazi.