DUBAI: French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s support for Lebanese sovereignty and security on Friday, following a deadly Israeli drone strike that killed two Lebanese soldiers in the southern town of Naqoura earlier on Thursday.
In a statement posted on X, Macron said he had spoken with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to discuss the country’s security situation and the path forward.
The French president praised Lebanon’s efforts to reassert state authority on arms and announced new diplomatic initiatives to support stability and reconstruction.
“I commended the courageous decisions taken by the Lebanese executive to restore the state’s monopoly on the use of force,” Macron said, urging the Lebanese government to adopt a national plan expected to be presented to the Cabinet in the coming days.
He reiterated that any successful stabilization plan must include the “complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and an end to all violations of Lebanese sovereignty.
