President Joseph Aoun (right) with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on April 24, 2026 in Nicosia, during a summit of European Union leaders and their regional partners. (Archive photo: Nicolas Tucat/AFP)
BEIRUT — The French chargé d’affaires in Lebanon, Bruno da Silva, on Wednesday delivered a letter from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to the Lebanese president, inviting Lebanon to a preparatory meeting for the international conference in support of the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces (ISF), according to a message on X from the Lebanese presidency. The preparatory meeting will be held in Paris on Sept. 17, with the participation of military delegations and experts from several countries, according to the presidency.
In June, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he had reached an agreement with Macron to work on organizing this international conference. No date has yet been set.
This conference to support the Lebanese Army was initially scheduled to be held in Paris on March 5, before the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran on Feb. 28, followed by the resumption of war in Lebanon on March 2, led to its postponement sine die. The conference was to be co-chaired by France, the United States, and Saudi Arabia, after a green light from the kingdom. Both the French and the Lebanese would have preferred it to be organized in Riyadh.
The Lebanese Army is at the center of attention on both the domestic scene and from the international community, due to the role it is expected to play in the disarmament of Hezbollah, which the Israeli army has conditioned on its withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
