French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot arrives in Beirut today on a visit that carries significant implications, amid the domestic race in diplomatic efforts, against the backdrop of escalating attacks and threats between Hezbollah and Israel, while time is becoming pressing in preparations for the Army Support Conference in Paris at the beginning of next March.

Barrot’s visit, his third to Lebanon, comes as a French signal of the importance Paris attaches to the conference’s success. It is no longer limited to the traditional visits of French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, whose focus during his trips was on helping provide mechanisms to implement the ceasefire agreement and secure a civilian seat on the Mechanism Committee (the Americans chair the committee with a military official and have a civilian representative attending meetings, while French participation is limited to a military member, as Washington refuses to include them as a civilian).

The U.S. aims to turn the mechanism into a trilateral committee including only Lebanon, Israel, and America, and Paris seeks to bypass the American restriction to play a role in this regard.

President Emmanuel Macron is keen to secure all elements for the conference’s success, not only by ensuring high-level representation and participation—fifty countries have confirmed so far—but also by pushing the Lebanese government to provide concrete evidence of its commitment to implement the disarmament resolution and international decisions, particularly Resolution 1701.

Achieving this would allow Paris to increase financial support. France’s bet on the conference’s success goes beyond organizing the event or gathering international participation; it also aims to strengthen France’s standing, as its leadership perceives U.S. attempts to sideline or marginalize it in favor of Washington’s desire to manage the file alone, even if it is not a current priority for the U.S.

Barrot will hold a series of meetings with Lebanese officials, focusing on several points according to available information: urging them to work intensively in the period leading up to the conference to consolidate stability and prevent sliding into regional conflict, especially with U.S.-Iran negotiations starting today, which could affect the Lebanese situation.

Reports indicate Barrot will discuss progress on army-led disarmament plans and the expected start of the second phase in northern Litani. His attention is not limited to the Army conference; he will also address financial reforms ahead of the IMF delegation’s visit to Beirut, preparations for the reconstruction conference which President Macron gives special attention to, as well as UNIFIL and the situation in southern Lebanon in the post-withdrawal phase of these international forces.

Barrot’s visit is part of a regional tour by the French foreign minister, which began yesterday in Damascus with a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Asaad Al Shaibani, followed by visits to Erbil and Baghdad before moving to Beirut today.

Some Lebanese sources downplay the significance of Barrot’s visit, viewing it as no more than a message of support for Lebanon and a French attempt to remain on the regional radar, as seen from his regional itinerary. Therefore, the authorities have no specific agenda or items for the visit, understood mainly as a message of support and a push to strengthen internal stability and fulfill commitments to receive the promised support.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Annahar