Lebanon’s Aoun asks visiting French FM for help preventing security vacuum in south after UNIFIL pullout

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, saying he would welcome any effort to prevent a security vacuum in the south if UN peacekeepers withdraw as planned at the end of the year.

Barrot is in Beirut for a two-day visit to discuss “mechanisms for an international presence” in the south — the scene of repeated conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah — after the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires.

In a statement, Aoun reiterates Lebanon’s desire to extend UNIFIL’s mandate, but adds, “if this proves impossible, Lebanon welcomes any arrangement that ensures an international presence in the south, prevents a vacuum, and avoids placing the Lebanese army in direct contact with the Israeli army.”

الرئيس جوزاف عون خلال استقباله وفداً وزارياً فرنسياً برئاسة وزير أوروبا والشؤون الخارجية جان نويل بارو:

– شكر الرئيس الفرنسي إيمانويل ماكرون على قراره إعادة الطيران التجاري الفرنسي إلى بيروت، ودعمه انضمام مرفأي بيروت وطرابلس إلى «نادي موانئ الممر الاقتصادي IMEC»، ودوره في إنشاء… pic.twitter.com/aKH3v2c5JO

— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) October 17, 2026