France’s Macron Urges Restraint in Lebanon after Wave of Explosions

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the port city of Le Havre, France, 12 September 2024. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the port city of Le Havre, France, 12 September 2024. (EPA)
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France’s Macron Urges Restraint in Lebanon after Wave of Explosions

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the port city of Le Havre, France, 12 September 2024. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the port city of Le Havre, France, 12 September 2024. (EPA)

French President Emmanuel Macron held phone calls with top political and military leaders from Lebanon, his office said on Thursday, urging restraint after a wave of explosions of pagers and radio devices.

Macron asked Lebanese leaders to pass on messages to local groups including Hezbollah to avoid further escalation, the Elysee said, amid fears of a wider war.  

Thousands of explosions in booby-trapped radios and pagers hit the Iran-backed group on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The attacks on Hezbollah's communications equipment killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, raising fears that a full-blown war was imminent.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the attacks, but multiple security sources have said they were carried out by its spy agency Mossad.

Spain's foreign ministry condemned the attacks as a violation of international humanitarian law that threatened the region's stability.

"We call for restraint on the part of all actors," the ministry said in a statement. "It's necessary to avoid a further escalation of violence and the risk of open war with unforeseeable consequences."

Spain's condemnation came hours after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid.



France's Macron Will Travel to Lebanon Very Soon

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world, on January 6, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world, on January 6, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP)
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France's Macron Will Travel to Lebanon Very Soon

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world, on January 6, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world, on January 6, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Lebanon very soon, the French presidency said on Thursday, after Macron spoke with Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese army chief who was elected president, to congratulate him.
The Elysee said in a statement that it would support Aoun's efforts to form a new government, underlining that it must be capable of carrying out reforms necessary for Lebanon's economic recovery and stability.
Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect Aoun, as head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum.
The vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.