BREAKING: Israel Must Put An End To This War And To The Illegal Occupation It Maintains, Says French PM
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According to the Anadolu agency, as efforts to contain a widening Middle East conflict grow increasingly fragile, France has sharpened its criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, warning that the fighting risks derailing broader attempts to stabilize the region and ease tensions with Iran.
Speaking before the French National Assembly on Wednesday, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu argued that the violence unfolding along Israel’s northern frontier cannot be treated as a separate crisis. In his view, Lebanon has become a central piece of a much larger regional puzzle, one that diplomats ignore at their peril.
“It is clear that not only must the ceasefire be respected, it is fragile, to say the least, even resembling a kind of ‘ceasefire through fire,’ which is unacceptable, but Israel must put an end to this war and to the illegal occupation it maintains on Lebanese territory,” he said.
Lecornu’s remarks come as international powers struggle to prevent the Israel-Iran confrontation from expanding further. While negotiations involving Washington and Tehran remain stalled, regional leaders have increasingly pointed to Lebanon as a critical flashpoint whose future could influence the course of wider diplomacy.
“There will be no comprehensive solution to this war with Iran if the Lebanese issue is set aside,” Lecornu said, stressing Hezbollah’s close ties to Tehran and warning against efforts to separate Lebanon from broader regional calculations.
The French leader also delivered a pointed assessment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy, arguing that continued military operations could ultimately undermine Israel’s own long-term security.
“What the Israeli government is doing is endangering, in the medium and long term, the security of the State of Israel itself,” Lecornu said.
He went further, criticizing what he described as a strategy of “permanent war” and urging international partners, including the United States, to push in a different direction.
“We can clearly see that the strategy of permanent war that Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently deploying before our eyes is something that must not only be hindered and opposed, but also requires convincing regional partners and, of course, the US to move in this direction,” he said.
For France, the stakes extend beyond diplomacy. Lecornu said Paris remains focused on protecting French citizens, safeguarding navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and supporting Lebanon, a country with which France shares deep historical ties.
His comments underscore a growing concern among Western governments that the conflict in Lebanon is no longer a secondary front. As ceasefire arrangements come under strain and regional negotiations remain uncertain, the question facing diplomats is whether peace efforts can succeed while fighting continues on multiple fronts.
