French soldiers of UNIFIL at a Lebanese army base in the Tyre region, July 8, 2025. Photo Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-Le Jour
BEIRUT — French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Tuesday that France "will support" Lebanon if Lebanese authorities consider it necessary to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is currently set to end on Dec. 31, 2026.
"We are discussing the future of UNIFIL, whose mandate expires at the end of this year, with the Lebanese authorities. If the Lebanese authorities believe the situation requires an extension, in dialogue with them, we will support such a position," the minister told a press briefing in Paris. He added that he did not wish to "try to guess in advance" the positions of the other members of the U.N. Security Council.
Under pressure from the United States, the Security Council decided in August 2025 to terminate the peacekeepers’ mandate on Dec. 31, 2026. President Joseph Aoun, for his part, is calling for an extension of UNIFIL’s presence due to persistent Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon. Barring an extension, the deployment of an alternative international force could be considered.
Asked about the situation in Lebanon, Barrot said that France’s position remains "unchanged." "What we want for Lebanon, for the region, for ourselves and for the world, is Lebanon’s fully restored sovereignty," he said. According to the minister, Paris wants a "strong state holding the monopoly of arms, which entails the disarmament of Hezbollah, and capable of ensuring security throughout the entire territory, which means the withdrawal of Israel." France also wants a Lebanese state "capable of guaranteeing the prosperity of all communities and all faiths and to live in peace and security with its neighbors."
"Our position, as the president of the Republic has reiterated many times, is to stand alongside and listen to the Lebanese authorities, particularly President Aoun and Prime Minister Salam, who have made decisions and undertaken courageous reforms for their country and whom we must support in this effort to establish an unprecedented and historic high-level dialogue with neighboring Israel," the foreign minister continued.
Barrot also praised the "courageous decision to ban Hezbollah and proceed with its disarmament," while emphasizing "the objectives... set forth in United Nations Resolution 1701."
