BEIRUT: France said on Friday that Lebanon’s recovery remains precarious despite positive signs following a ceasefire and government transition, and it stood ready to support the country’s reconstruction if it continues with reforms.
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, addressing reporters after meetings in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and other top officials, said France was prepared to host a dedicated conference in Paris on reconstruction, but only if reforms continue, legislation is passed and decisions are implemented.
While Lebanon has adopted banking secrecy and bank resolution laws, it must still complete restructuring, reach an IMF agreement and pass a loss-sharing law, Barrot said. He also urged swift action on Hezbollah disarmament and national reconciliation.
Barrot said Lebanon had reached a crucial juncture in implementing the November 2024 truce with Israel, as well as restoring state authority over weapons and stabilising a shattered financial system.
France, the country’s former colonial power, plans to mobilize international backing for the Lebanese armed forces and internal security forces at a separate conference scheduled for March 5 in Paris.
“Lebanon must work to restore confidence — that of its citizens, businesses, depositors, and the diaspora,” Barrot said.
France’s immediate focus was ensuring respect for the ceasefire, which he emphasized “implies that Israel withdraws from Lebanese territory, in accordance with its commitments, and that civilians are protected from strikes,” alongside implementation by Lebanese authorities of an agreed-upon arms monopoly plan.
Lebanon has pledged to bring all arms in the country under state control, in line with the 2024 agreement that ended a devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel, and has asserted control over areas of the country closest to the border with Israel. But Hezbollah has warned the government that pressing on with efforts to disarm the group throughout the country would trigger chaos and possibly civil war.
France to rally aid for Lebanon as it warns truce gains remain fragile
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France to rally aid for Lebanon as it warns truce gains remain fragile
- France to host a Lebanon reconstruction conference if reforms continue, legislation is passed and decisions are implemented, Barrot says
- While Lebanon has adopted banking secrecy and bank resolution laws, it must still complete restructuring, reach an IMF agreement and pass a loss-sharing law
HRW says Israel’s Lebanon evacuation risks violating laws of war
- “Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags,” said Kaiss
- “How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately?”
BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Israeli military’s call for residents of vast areas of southern Lebanon to evacuate raised “serious risks of violations of the laws of war.”
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel with Israel conducting air strikes across the country and its troops pushing into border towns.
On Thursday, Israel renewed its warning to residents of hundreds of square kilometers (miles) of southern Lebanon to evacuate because of military action.
“Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags and fears for the safety of civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately? And how will their safety be guaranteed as they leave?” he said in a statement from the rights group.
HRW said “the sweeping nature” of Israel’s call raised “concerns that their purpose is not to protect civilians,” adding that the area was home to hundreds of thousands of people.
The evacuation call “raises serious risks of violations of the laws of war,” it added.
Lebanese authorities said dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced from their homes since Monday.
