France has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Monday, to discuss the escalating war in Lebanon, in a move that highlights Paris's hardening stance against Israel.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke in a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Sunday night and urged him to quickly reach an agreement with Iran to stabilise the Middle East.
There is hope of convincing Washington that a deal with Iran, believed to be imminent, cannot come at the expense of giving Israel a free hand in Lebanon.
Israel said on Monday it would strike south Beirut, in an escalatory move that caused mass panic as civilians fled the area.
"I commended President Trump's commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, and emphasised the importance of a robust ceasefire and our collective support for the Lebanese authorities," Mr Macron said on X on Monday, giving details about the phone call.
Concern about Israel's military escalation in Lebanon is also growing in the UK.
"It must stop," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said. A representative also brought attention to the April 16 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, which was never implemented.
Legitimate interests
"Both Israel and Hezbollah must respect the ceasefire, and civilians must be protected, and the IDF's widespread demolition of civilian areas of southern Lebanon undermines the cease fire, Lebanese sovereignty and prospects for peace," the Downing Street representative said.
Germany, a key Israeli ally, echoed calls for Israel and Hezbollah to stop fighting. "Of course Israel has legitimate security interests," the German foreign office said. "Yet when it is civilians that pay the price of a military escalation and when parts of Lebanon become permanently uninhabitable, this will not make Israel’s environment any more secure in the long term."
Israel says Hezbollah poses an existential threat. Lebanese leaders and some international stakeholders fear that Israel's invasion is bolstering Hezbollah's position and weakening the Lebanese army's ability to disarm the militia as demanded by its western allies.
Israeli strikes since March 2 have so far killed more than 3,370 people, according to the Lebanese government. Israel says 24 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.
European officials are also aware that their ability to influence fighting on the ground is limited.
In his call with Mr Trump, Mr Macron appeared to have little concrete to offer apart from reiterating that Paris and London are ready to deploy an international naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz once Iran and the US strike a peace deal. The mission was jointly announced by the UK and France on April 17.
Limited leverage
In a major diplomatic setback for Paris, Israel excluded France from its historic direct talks with Lebanon that started in Washington on April 14.
France's choice to champion the sovereignty of Lebanon, due to its historic ties as a former colonial power, is not viewed favourably by Israel. At the same time, France's absence has left Lebanon more vulnerable in negotiations over Israeli and US demands.
While Monday's emergency UN Security Council meeting on Lebanon has been organised at France's demand, Paris has not submitted a draft text for discussion.
It is largely an exercise in signalling growing international pressure on Israel. Any call on Israel to unilaterally stop its operations in Lebanon would be expected to be vetoed by the US.
Yet France was not always subdued when it comes to Lebanese peace talks. In 2024, Paris played a role alongside the US in brokering an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. At the time, though, many analysts noted France appeared to secure its spot in the agreement by promising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu it would not implement an ICC arrest warrant against him.
No more appeasement
Paris now appears to have given up on trying to placate Mr Netanyahu. Israel's renewed offensive against Lebanon in March pushed some European countries to harden their stance.
In Brussels, France now supports a push to restrict the EU's trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Italy has tentatively joined the movement, which means that the required qualified majority could be within reach to restrict trade.
There is little to show that EU sanctions could affect the behaviour of the Israeli government, particularly a few months before a legislative election.
Last month, Mr Netanyahu criticised the first EU sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers in more than two years, describing them as "moral bankruptcy".
Despite widespread condemnation, the Israeli government is also pressing ahead with a disputed plan to build settlements in the occupied West Bank, known as E1. The proposal is publicly backed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Nine countries – Italy, Britain, Germany, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands – threatened to impose sanctions against companies that take part in bidding for tenders related to the Israeli project, scheduled for Monday.
The E1 project is widely described as effectively burying the possibility of a Palestinian state.
Speaking on Saturday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned: "I say this with the utmost seriousness: any company that responds to these tenders will be subject to sanctions.”
