Ofer Bronstein, an Israeli-French advisor on the Israel-PA conflict to President Emmanuel Macron, told Haaretz over the weekend that the French government and its military have suggested deploying French soldiers to address Israel’s concerns about preventing Hezbollah from gaining strength in southern Lebanon.
The IDF withdrew from Lebanon on February 18, adhering to the target date set in the ceasefire agreement. However, it maintains a presence at five strategic locations north of the Lebanese border in coordination with the United States.
Regarding UNIFIL, Bronstein stated, “The past is over. Tomorrow’s UNIFIL will have teeth. It will no longer be a force that merely observes both sides and reports to New York.”
As a former colonial power that occupied Lebanon after WW1, France maintains friendly relations with Beirut and has frequently offered its support. French is widely spoken in Lebanon and serves as a medium of instruction in many schools. Additionally, both nations are members of the International Organization of La Francophonie.
Currently, approximately 23,000 French nationals reside in Lebanon, while around 210,000 Lebanese live in France.
Despite the recent relative warming of relations between Israel and France, France remains one of the key European Union countries that generally does not support Israel in UN resolutions. France backed the decision to upgrade the Palestinian Authority’s status to an observer state at the UN and supported labeling Israeli products from eastern Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and Judea and Samaria. In October 2015, the French ambassador to Israel was reprimanded over France’s initiative to deploy international observers on the Temple Mount. And in December 2017, France pressured EU countries to vote as a bloc in favor of a resolution condemning President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
On October 24, 2023, President Macron visited Israel to express solidarity. He condemned the Hamas terrorist attack—which claimed the lives of 30 French citizens—and called for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. However, on November 10, 2023, in an interview with the BBC, he stated that “there is no justification for the bombings” in Gaza and, citing concerns over potential unrest in France, argued that a ceasefire in Gaza “would benefit Israel.”
On May 31, 2024, following the Battle of Rafah, Macron barred Israel from the Eurosatory arms exhibition. On June 17, 2024, the Israeli Manufacturers and French-Jewish businessmen filed a petition with the Supreme Court of France, which ruled in favor of allowing Israelis to enter the exhibition.
Israel and the U.S. reject the idea of UNIFIL forces controlling or even sharing control of the five strategic points. Israel also opposes the proposal to station French soldiers at these locations instead of IDF troops. Regarding the transfer of control to the Lebanese army, Israel expects this to occur through diplomatic negotiations, contingent on the Lebanese army successfully pushing Hezbollah terrorists north of the Litani River.
