France hosts Lebanon conference hampered by empty seats

PARIS — An aid conference for Lebanon opens in Paris on Thursday in the hope of raising half a billion euros ($540 billion), with hosts France also targeting diplomatic progress for the country.

"This country, France's friend, is on the edge of the abyss," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a message posted to X.

"It is our duty to act and that's why France has taken this initiative," he added.

But in the absence of key players, any political breakthrough appears remote around the conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah, which has so far claimed more than 1,500 lives and displaced 800,000 people.

Israel launched a ground offensive against Iran-backed Hizbollah in southern Lebanon in late September after a year exchanging fire over the border.

France wants to reinstate UN Security Council resolution 1701, which sealed the end of the last Hizbollah-Israel war in 2006.

The resolution stipulates that the only armed forces on Lebanon's southern frontier with Israel should be UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army.

Paris is also seeking an increase in humanitarian aid for a country to which it has historic ties and which has a large diaspora in France.

Around 70 countries and 15 international organisations are expected, although the list of invitees did not include either Iran or Israel.

Three-pronged push 

French President Emmanuel Macron will open the conference following a one-on-one meeting on Wednesday with Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati, while Germany and Canada have sent their foreign ministers Annalena Baerbock and Melanie Joly.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will speak remotely.

The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in a statement the gathering was "an important occasion to mobilise the urgent political and economic support to the Lebanese people and country's sovereignty".

Host France is pushing for progress on three fronts -- diplomacy, humanitarian aid and Lebanon's domestic politics.

"We've put concrete proposals on the table to bring about a ceasefire as quickly as possible," Barrot said.

France has pushed alongside the United States for a temporary 21-day ceasefire to give space to negotiate a more lasting truce.

Diplomacy offers "the only viable solution for Lebanon as well as for Israel", where 60,000 people have fled their homes, Barrot said.

With no Israeli or Iranian participation and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sending his deputy Richard Verma, there are limited prospects for progress.

"Anything that does not bring about an immediate end to the destruction and killing would make this summit a failure," said Bachir Ayoub, aid group Oxfam's Lebanon chief.

Back to 2006 

Macron will announce an as-yet unknown financial contribution to the UN's $400-million Lebanon appeal, having chipped in $100 million at a similar 2021 conference.

France wants to "mobilise humanitarian aid from as many countries as possible", Barrot said.

Nevertheless, in Lebanon, "the needs are so vast that even if the aid totalled hundreds of millions of dollars, you could cynically see it as a sort of palliative care", said Karim Bitar, an international relations expert at Beirut's Saint-Joseph University.

The third prong of the effort will be attempts to build up Lebanon's institutions and especially its armed forces, "to preserve the country's unity, stability and sovereignty", Barrot said.

UN Security Council resolution 1701 stipulates that the only armed forces on Lebanon's border with Israel should be UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army.

It also says no foreign forces should enter Lebanon without the government's consent.

Conference participants may offer training, equipment and funding for the troops to keep the Lebanese army functioning and allow new recruitment so it is strong enough to do its job.

Fully reinstating 1701 would "allow us to guarantee Lebanese sovereignty and unity on the one hand and on the other to give security guarantees to Israel", Barrot said on Wednesday.

For the interim, Italy has floated the idea of a beefed-up UN peacekeeping force "capable of dealing with the new situation", an Italian diplomatic source told AFP.