French armed forces minister visits Lebanon amid conflict at border with Israel

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France's Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Lecornu, arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday for meetings with officials, including caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

He is scheduled to visit a UN peacekeeping base on Thursday, where France is a major contributor. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) strongly condemned attacks on its troops after its headquarters in the coastal town of Naqoura and other bases were hit.

Mr Lecornu said he aims to reaffirm France's “commitment to the stability of Lebanon”.

The visit comes amid escalating violence at Lebanon's southern border between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza war.

The Israeli army and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily for more than three weeks. While the deadly clashes have primarily been restricted to a few border towns, there is concern that the slightest miscalculation could escalate into a full-scale war.

France, with its historical colonial ties to Lebanon, maintains substantial influence within the nation's political and cultural landscape.

Since the beginning of the war, several demonstrations have taken place outside the French embassy in Beirut to protest against Israel's bombardment of Gaza and denounce the French government's unwavering support for Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned “the Iranian regime” and its regional allies, including “Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen,” not to “recklessly open new fronts”, during joint press conferences with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 24.

He warned against “regional conflagration in which everyone would emerge as a loser”, stressing that Paris had already “sent several messages to Hezbollah to warn them against getting involved in the Gaza war”.

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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

French armed forces minister visits Lebanon amid conflict at border with Israel

Sebastien Lecornu meets caretaker PM Majib Mikati as tensions rise between Lebanon and Israel

The specs

MATCH INFO

UAE jiu-jitsu squad

The specs

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