This photograph taken in Mulhouse, in eastern France, shows a screen broadcasting the address of French President Emmanuel Macron on the war in Iran and its repercussions in the Middle East, from the Élysée Palace in Paris on March 3, 2026. (Credit: Sebastien Bozon/AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke on Wednesday with Lebanese leaders — President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam — as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation in Lebanon, which he deemed "very worrying" amid escalating tensions since Monday.
"I reaffirmed the necessity for Hezbollah to immediately cease its attacks on Israel and beyond. This escalation strategy is a major mistake that endangers the entire region. Likewise, I called on the Israeli prime minister to preserve Lebanon’s territorial integrity and to refrain from a ground offensive. It is important that all parties return to the cease-fire agreement," he wrote on X.
The French president assured that "France will continue, with its partners, its support for the efforts of the Lebanese Armed Forces so that they can fully carry out their sovereignty missions and put an end to the threat posed by Hezbollah."
"In response to the humanitarian emergency in southern Lebanon, France will take immediate initiatives to support displaced Lebanese populations," he added, emphasizing that France’s solidarity with the Lebanese people and its commitment to regional stability remain at the heart of its actions.
This appeal comes after a first conversation between the two presidents on Tuesday afternoon. Macron, who had contacted his Lebanese counterpart, had called a potential Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon a "strategic mistake."
The two leaders had also discussed ongoing security developments, and "President Aoun had insisted on France’s intervention to end Israeli attacks on Lebanon."
Elsewhere, Aoun held talks with the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa. According to a statement from the Lebanese presidency, Aoun asked the United States — just as he had with France — to make efforts to end Israeli attacks.
Issa was also hosted by Salam, with whom he discussed "developments in Lebanon and the region," according to a message published on X by the Grand Serail. The U.S. ambassador had previously noted that the government’s decisions to ban Hezbollah’s military activities and invite the army to implement the weapons monopoly plan "came too late," and that they should be executed "as soon as possible and by all possible means."
