Barrot in Beirut: France wants no security vacuum after UNIFIL

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot held talks in Beirut with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri on what follows the UN peacekeeping mission, whose mandate the Security Council decided in August 2025 to end by the close of 2026, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Aoun said Lebanon still prefers extending UNIFIL but is open to alternatives that keep an international presence in the south. Salam called for a presence able to monitor developments and report violations under a new Security Council mandate, and for a stronger Lebanese Army.

Berri thanked France and urged coordinated efforts to prevent a vacuum. France and Italy said in June they would work toward a multinational successor force.