A Frenchman was killed in Lebanon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday, while the Israeli army has been shelling the country for several days. The announcement was made when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, had just landed in Beirut. This is the second French victim since the intensification of Israeli strikes against the Lebanese pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah.
“We confirm the death of a second Frenchman,” said the ministry without giving further details on the profile of the victim or the circumstances of his death. According to information from franceinfo, it is a 60-year-old man.
The Quai d’Orsay announced Thursday the death of a first French national. “We deplore the death which occurred last Monday of an 87-year-old compatriot in a village near the city of Tyre” where the building in which she resided collapsed after a “strong explosion”, indicated the ministry, without provide more details as to the origin of the explosion.
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This new announcement coincides with the arrival of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, in Lebanon this Sunday evening. According to the Quai d’Orsay, he must “exchange with local authorities and provide French support, particularly humanitarian support”.
Emergency health aid must be announced
According to his official program, in the evening he must deliver emergency health aid to the Lebanese Minister of Health, before a working meeting on the situation of French nationals. Monday will be devoted to meetings, notably with Najib Mikati, the Prime Minister, General Joseph Aoun, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and Nabih Berri, President of the National Assembly.
The Israeli army again carried out violent raids against Hezbollah on Sunday in which nearly 60 people died, two days after killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah as well as dozens of members of the Lebanese Islamist movement. This escalation raises fears that the entire Middle East will fall into open conflict with consequences that are as devastating as they are unpredictable.
The presence of Jean-Noël Barrot in Beirut symbolizes the intensity of Franco-Lebanese relations. President Emmanuel Macron has been very involved in recent years in trying to resolve the political impasse in which the country, also in a deep economic crisis, has found itself stuck. In vain.
He appointed a special envoy, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, who went there six times, the last of which was at the beginning of the week. The emissary met with all the parties to try to convince them to finally elect a president. He made no statement to the press, neither in Lebanon nor in France.
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