Minister of Foreign Affairs Speaks After Death of French Soldier in Lebanon
Published on: April 23, 2026 08:43 Updated on: April 23, 2026 09:18 Reading time: 2 minutes
Minister Jean-Noël Barrot spoke on franceinfo Thursday morning after a second French military member from the UN mission in Lebanon died from injuries sustained in an ambush attributed to the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement.
Jean-Noël Barrot, on the morning show of franceinfo on Thursday, April 23, discussed the attack in Lebanon that led to the deaths of two French soldiers. He stated that targeting clearly identified military personnel as peacekeepers was “constitutive of a war crime.” Members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are “peace soldiers” who are there to reduce hostilities, he emphasized.
Anicet Girardin, a second French military member from the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), died on Wednesday after being seriously injured in an ambush attributed to Hezbollah on Saturday, April 18. Another French soldier, Adjudant Florian Montorio, was fatally wounded in the same ambush. Barrot reaffirmed that “everything suggests that the responsibility for this crime lies with Hezbollah.”
Attacking peacekeepers is “an affront to the entire international community because it authorizes these soldiers,” Barrot said. “It is UNIFIL, namely the peacekeepers who were targeted, and France paid the price,” added the minister.
Barrot stressed that attacking peacekeepers who are there to reduce tension and limit hostilities is a war crime. In the case of UNIFIL, these soldiers are also there to “participate in a peace process allowing the disarmament of Hezbollah, the withdrawal of Israel, and the return of displaced persons.” Regarding the attack, the minister vowed that “those responsible will be punished for the crimes they have committed.” Barrot also highlighted the goal in Lebanon is to achieve the “disarmament of Hezbollah” to which this attack is attributed.
/2026/04/23/69e9eea5770b5465449740.jpg "If the Lebanese state manages to negotiate a halt to the strikes and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, it will have the upper hand over Hezbollah, according to a journalist living in Lebanon.")
