War in the Middle East: Emmanuel Macron announces the death of a second French soldier in the ambush in…

A second French military member of the UN mission in Lebanon, known as Finul, died on Wednesday, April 22nd “due to his injuries” inflicted by Hezbollah members in the same ambush that killed Sergeant Florian Montorio. This marks the third French casualty by allies of Tehran since the beginning of the conflict.

Emmanuel Macron announced, in a message published on Wednesday, April 22nd, the death of French Chief Corporal Anicet Girardin in the morning “due to his injuries”. He was caught in an ambush against UN peacekeepers of the Interim Force in Lebanon (Finul) on Saturday and was repatriated to France on Monday.

“He died for France,” the president wrote, adding: “the Nation (…) solemnly salutes the memory of Chief Corporal Anicet Girardin and his sacrifice.” “It also extends its most sincere thoughts and deepest compassion to his family, his loved ones, and the families of the other injured,” continued the head of state.

Chief Corporal Anicet Girardin was killed in the same ambush as the one that claimed the life of Sergeant Florian Montorio on Saturday.

“Intense fire from Hezbollah fighters ambushed at very close range”

These soldiers were caught in an ambush against Finul peacekeepers, in which two other French soldiers were injured. French authorities immediately attributed the attack to the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement active in southern Lebanon, a claim denied by the Shiite Islamist group.

In a post on X, Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin explained that the Finul soldiers were intervening “to clear a route trapped by an improvised explosive device” when they were “violently attacked by intense fire from Hezbollah fighters ambushed at very close range.” According to the minister, Chief Corporal Anicet Girardin was injured while coming to the aid of another wounded soldier.

A tribute ceremony for Sergeant Florian Montorio is scheduled for Thursday, April 23rd at the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment in Montauban, where he was serving. On March 12, Chief Sergeant Arnaud Frion, 42, was killed in a drone attack attributed to a pro-Iranian militia in the Erbil region of Iraqi Kurdistan, where he was participating in an anti-jihadist training mission.