With UNIFIL leaving in December, Aoun asks France to help avoid a security vacuum in the south

President Joseph Aoun told visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot that Lebanon "welcomes any arrangement that ensures an international presence in the south" if the UN peacekeeping mandate cannot be extended.

The Security Council voted in August 2025 to end UNIFIL's mission on 31 December 2026. France and Italy have said they intend to set up a multinational force afterwards. Aoun said Israel has not complied with June's framework agreement, which provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army.

The UN's peacekeeping chief, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, ended a three-day visit in which he met Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and army commander General Rodolphe Haykal. He said Lebanese officials want the UN to remain a "third party" that can prevent escalation between the Israeli and Lebanese armies.

A Lebanese military delegation is due in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday for talks with US and Israeli officers. In border villages, residents told AFP they dread the departure of peacekeepers who have been part of daily life for decades.