Paris Security Talks Open on Replacing UN Peacekeeping Mission in Southern Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II are meeting in Paris to discuss international assistance for Lebanon’s financially strained army and plans to establish a new force to replace the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.

Macron welcomed Aoun and King Abdullah at the Élysée Palace on Thursday. Senior military officials from their countries and partner nations, including Britain and the United States, are expected to join subsequent discussions.

The talks are taking place as the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is scheduled to expire this year, following nearly five decades of operations that began in 1978.

France and Italy have expressed support for forming a multinational coalition that would take over from UNIFIL.

According to the French presidency, the Paris meeting will examine a Lebanese Armed Forces deployment plan built around a “clear, credible and realistic” framework.

French officials say the discussions are intended to clarify the “operational context, parameters and modalities” of the proposed deployment. Paris views these details as necessary for securing what it describes as “robust” international assistance, including funding, equipment, and training.

Lebanon’s military, which faces significant equipment and resource shortages, has encountered difficulties in carrying out its responsibility to disarm Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The disarmament of the Iran-backed group is a key condition linked to Israel’s withdrawal from the area.