The four members of the LFI delegation, from left to right, Andrée Taurinya, Manon Aubry, Arnaud Le Gall, and Rima Hassan, alongside Simon Abiramia, president of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the France-Lebanon friendship group in the Lebanese Parliament, during a press briefing at the Lebanese Parliament in Beirut on June 10, 2026. (Photo provided by the LFI press office)
Wrapping up its five-day visit to Lebanon, a delegation from La France Insoumise (LFI) — including Members of the European Parliament (MEP) Manon Aubry and Rima Hassan, as well as MPs Arnaud Le Gall and Andrée Taurinya — on Friday called on France and the European Union to toughen their stance toward Israel. "We have levers to act, and we have come to remind people that we can use them," said Aubry during a press conference, essentially summing up the core goal of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party’s four MPs at the conclusion of their visit, undertaken as a gesture of solidarity with Lebanon.
This approach revolves around three key demands — strengthening the Lebanese Army, suspending the association agreement between the EU and Israel, and maintaining a U.N. force in southern Lebanon, especially as the withdrawal of UNIFIL has been set for the end of 2026. These points were reiterated notably during their meeting with President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday, and they also met with several political leaders and humanitarian actors.
In line with the traditional French diplomatic stance, the delegation expressed support for increased assistance to the Lebanese Army, while calling for an "effective and lasting cease-fire and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the south," where Israel occupies more than 600 square kilometers of Lebanese territory. "It is essential that a U.N. force remain in southern Lebanon, if only to bear witness to the war crimes — if not more — that are being committed there," said Arnaud Le Gall.
On the issue of Hezbollah, the delegation took a position similar to that of Lebanese authorities. "The question of Hezbollah’s disarmament is inseparable from that of strengthening the Lebanese Army," said the MP from Val-d'Oise, before criticizing the U.S.-Israeli approach to the matter. "All serious actors, military or political ... tell us that disarming Hezbollah by force is unrealistic; it would only make the situation worse." During their meeting, Aoun advocated for a "political, military, economic, and social" approach to dismantling Hezbollah's arsenal, after the party opened a front against Israel in October 2023 in support of Gaza.
'Double standard'
But it is on the issue of sanctions against Israel that the delegation is mostly not aligned with the predominant French and European positions. LFI calls for the suspension of the association agreement between the EU and Israel. "If we refer to Article 2 of the association agreement, it must be suspended as soon as there is a determination of a violation of human rights and international law, which was already the case before October 2023," said Rima Hassan, the French MEP of Palestinian origin.
She also emphasized the "double standard"of the EU's treatment of Israel in comparison to that of Russia, which was heavily sanctioned for its war on Ukraine. "European leaders still refuse to consider the question of sanctions against the Israeli state, limiting themselves to individual measures," she said, referring to sanctions targeting certain settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. "France thereby helps maintain this impunity, even though everyone knows that the project of colonizing the West Bank and the genocide in Gaza amount to state policy."
Lacking a majority in the European Parliament, LFI is banking on a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), set to be filed on July 15, to compel the European Commission to address the issue. Aubry also criticized the absence of a visit to Lebanon by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, pointing out that, "Since taking office, Kaja Kallas has not found time in her schedule to come to Lebanon."
This article originally appeared in French on L'Orient-Le Jour.
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