The 88 members of the International Organization of La Francophonie, including France, Canada, and Belgium, approved an international conference in support of Lebanon, which is under Israeli strikes, scheduled for October, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Saturday.
He thanked the members of the OIF "for approving France's organization of an international conference to support Lebanon," another member of the OIF, during a closing press conference at the 19th OIF summit, which took place in France. He specified that the conference would be held in October.
The members of the OIF also unanimously called for an "immediate and lasting" ceasefire in Lebanon, Macron added.
"We unanimously expressed our support for an immediate and lasting ceasefire and affirmed our commitment to de-escalating tensions in the region," the French president said.
President Macron also expressed his regret regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "choice" to intervene militarily in Lebanon, particularly in "ground operations," while reaffirming Israel's right to defend itself.
"I regret that Prime Minister Netanyahu made a different choice (than the ceasefire proposed by Paris and Washington, editor’s note), took on this responsibility, particularly with ground operations on Lebanese soil," he stated. France stands "in solidarity with Israel's security," he added, noting that he would meet on Monday with the families of Franco-Israeli victims of the October 7 attacks.
With AFP.
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