France's Foreign Minister Holds Talks with Lebanese Army Chief
Army Chief Rodolphe Haykal hosted Jean-Noel Barrot at his headquarters northeast of Beirut, joined by French Ambassador Herve Magro and the foreign minister's accompanying delegation, a news agency reported.
Discussions centered on evolving regional and internal dynamics, specific requirements to enhance the Lebanese army's operational capacity and supply chain infrastructure, plus logistical coordination for the forthcoming support summit in France.
Barrot announced Friday from Beirut that France would convene the conference March 5 in Paris to rally essential backing for Lebanon's army and internal security apparatus—particularly to execute Lebanon's blueprint for consolidating weapons control under state authority and managing the transition beyond the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deployment.
The French foreign minister disclosed that Paris is coordinating with the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and additional allies to assemble unified contributions for presentation to Lebanese officials.
The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution in August 2025 extending UNIFIL's mandate one final time through December 2026.
That identical month, Lebanon's government greenlit measures restricting weaponry to state control—including armaments possessed by Hezbollah—and designated the army to roll out the initiative across five sequential phases.
Haykal is slated to deliver a comprehensive briefing on the weapons-control program to Lebanon's Cabinet next week, detailing first-phase achievements south of the Litani River and groundwork for launching the second phase north of the waterway, a correspondent reported.
The Lebanese army declared in late 2025 that the inaugural phase south of the Litani had "achieved its objectives and entered an advanced stage," while cautioning that Israeli strikes and occupation of Lebanese positions were "negatively affecting" its completion.
Hezbollah has repeatedly affirmed its intention to maintain its arsenal while demanding cessation of Israel's operations in Lebanon and evacuation from occupied territories.
A 2024 ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel halted over a year of hostilities that claimed more than 4,000 lives and wounded 17,000 additional people, unfolding parallel to Israel's Gaza offensive.
The Israeli military was obligated to exit southern Lebanon in January 2025 per the ceasefire terms but executed only a partial withdrawal, continuing to occupy five border outposts.
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