President Emmanuel Macron is intensifying his initiatives to assist Lebanon, aiming to showcase France’s role as a significant mediator in the Middle East, rather than merely aligning with the United States. On Thursday, the French president convened with numerous high-ranking international officials at a conference designed to garner humanitarian support for Lebanon and to reinvigorate efforts to resolve the conflict as Israel escalates its military actions against Hezbollah.
In the name of the long-standing ties that unite France and Lebanon, we have chosen to do our duty to support the Lebanese people. They need massive aid from the international community. pic.twitter.com/RxUbfilviC
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 24, 2024
Macron’s interest goes beyond France’s traditional support for Lebanon since its diplomat François Georges-Picot in 1916 conspired with British diplomat Mark Sykes to cobble together an impossible amalgamation of tribes and sects: Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Druze, Alawites, and others, and call it “Lebanon.” The idea was to protect the Christians against the Muslim majorities in Syria, which was also cobbled by those same two gentlemen into an imaginary state.
Following the devastating explosion of Hezbollah weapons and ammunition warehouses that destroyed whole neighborhoods of Beirut, including the city’s port on August 4, 2020, on March 13 this year, France announced it was taking over the reconstruction of Beirut, port-and-all. According to Le Monde, the plan was prepared by engineering firms Artelia and Egis, in coordination with the Lebanese Ministry of Transport and the Beirut port authorities. The plan calls for investing between $50 million and $80 million to rehabilitate and redevelop the port area between the container terminal and the military port.
But altogether, the rehabilitation of Beirut as Macron introduced it after the Israeli attacks on large swaths of Beirut, will cost as much as 800 million euros ($866 million), of which France will contribute 100 million euros ($108 million).
Last week, Macron met with President Joe Biden in Berlin and insisted that “the sovereignty of Lebanon is a fundamental cause that France will always defend. It is essential to provide Lebanese institutions with the means to endure during this dangerous period.”
With French firms getting their due cut.
But I can send 100 million euros to sponsor terrorism in Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/4FAKPTHjNJ
— Emmanuel Macron إيمانويل ماكرون ᵖᵃʳᵒᵈʸ (@LEmmanuelMacron) October 24, 2024
One enormous hurdle before those French get rich fantasies is, you guessed it, Israel. This is why an Elysée official insisted last week, “It’s important that we bring concrete answers to these problems. That is why we want to advance rapidly to a ceasefire and then a political solution that involves all parties.”
Last September, Israel was able to take full advantage of the eagerness of France and the United States to establish a 21-day ceasefire with Hezbollah, which would have meant that the IDF would have had to end its fighting to secure south Lebanon for three weeks, following which it would be difficult to restart. But while Netanyahu was ostensibly taking the podium at the UN General Assembly to announce a ceasefire, the Israeli Air Force assassinated Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah, and the IDF pushed into Lebanon with renewed vigor.
????? MACRON: Stopping all weapons exports to ISRAEL is the only solution to ending the wars in Gaza & Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/4IUPhVCO39
— Legitimate Targets (@LegitTargets) October 22, 2024
Macron condemned the “indiscriminate Israeli strikes” in Lebanon that aggravate the “already unbearable” human toll in Gaza and Lebanon. He and Netanyahu spoke on the phone, and Macron warned Netanyahu not to “ignore United Nations decisions,” because, as his spokesperson put it, “Mr. Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a UN decision.”
Two things: it has been UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army which for 18 years turned a blind eye while Hezbollah ignored UNSC resolutions 1701 – sending it north of the Litani River, and 1559 calling for the disarming of all the paramilitary groups in Lebanon; and, of course, Israel was not created by the UN, it was created with the blood and toil of 6,000 Israelis who gave their lives to repel five invading Arab armies, which the UN did not even attempt to help.
Macron provoked Netanyahu just days before the anniversary of October 7 by urging a cessation of arms deliveries intended for military operations in Gaza. Given that France supplies only limited amounts of arms components to Israel, many interpreted Macron’s remarks as a signal directed at the United States, which provides Israel with substantial military aid. In response, Netanyahu expressed his disapproval, stating, “What a disgrace.”
And now, let’s kill many more Hezbollah terrorists and let Macron wait for his big payday.
The French president could do a lot to push the war along if he taught Hezbollah a lesson in French resistance strategy: surrender.
