On September 1, the French president Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon for the second time since the August 4 explosion at the Beirut port. He did so—in keeping with his country’s longstanding involvement in Lebanese affairs—to help restore stability in Lebanon and to assist it in recovering from the catastrophe. But these efforts will fail, writes Tsilla Herscho, until Macron takes a harder line against the Iran-backed terrorist group Hizballah and its efforts to transform the Levantine nation into a launching pad for attacks on Israel:
President Macron is friendlier toward Israel than were his predecessors. [Yet] Macron has continued France’s tradition of appeasing Hizballah. For instance, following the discovery in December 2018 and January 2019 of six terrorist attack tunnels built by Hezbollah that reached deep into Israel’s northern territory, . . . France condemned the digging of the tunnels and recognized it as a violation [of a UN resolution], but maintained its traditional posture as an “impartial mediator” and yet again called for Israeli restraint.
France’s policy of appeasement . . . has the unfortunate result of encouraging rather than discouraging Hizballah to pursue terrorist activities against Israel. This undermines any chance of achieving stability for Lebanon, and it works to the advantage of Hizballah’s Iranian patron.
Another central problem with France’s policy toward Hizballah is its continued opposition to the designation of Hizballah’s political wing as a terrorist organization. France has so far prevented EU member states’ attempts to make this designation and impose sanctions accordingly, as the EU has done with Hizballah’s military wing. . . . Moreover, France continues to promote the unrealistic illusion that Hizballah will at some point be disarmed, either by Lebanon’s army or by its political institutions. This mission is impossible to accomplish, as both are completely controlled by Hizballah.
Read more on BESA Center: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/lebanon-france-stability/