French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Thursday that their governments intend to form a multinational coalition to succeed the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) when its mandate ends on 31 December 2026. Speaking after a bilateral summit in Antibes, Macron stated that the initiative would be coordinated with the European Union and the United Nations and aimed at “strengthening Lebanon’s sovereignty and that of its armed forces” while preventing Lebanese territory from becoming “a foothold for regional escalation.” Meloni added that Italy and France, both major troop contributors to the current mission, would seek to “avoid an extremely dangerous security vacuum” and indicated that an international conference involving European and Middle Eastern partners could be convened to launch the effort.

Viewed from European capitals, the proposal reflects a determination to preserve a Western-led stabilisation presence in southern Lebanon after the UN Security Council, under pressure from Washington, declined to renew UNIFIL’s mandate in its existing form. The French and Italian leaders stressed that the new arrangement would require a clear legal framework and mandate—something Meloni said UNIFIL had lacked. Macron noted that Paris and Rome would first work with Lebanese authorities to design a mechanism that supports the Lebanese Armed Forces and security services, and he disclosed that Saudi Arabia was expected to provide “elements of support” to the Lebanese military in the coming days, without offering further detail.

UNIFIL, which has operated along the 120-kilometre Blue Line since 1978, currently deploys around 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries. Its presence has not prevented repeated outbreaks of hostilities, and since 2 March 2026, conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has resumed, with the Israeli military conducting what it describes as its deepest incursion into Lebanese territory since 2000. Israeli officials, as reported by the country’s public broadcaster, have signalled that the time has come for political steps to replace Israeli forces with the Lebanese army, provided there are American guarantees that the army will act against Hezbollah and not return to the border area. From the UN headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres has maintained that a continued UN military presence in Lebanon is “necessary” after the current mission expires, a position likely to encounter opposition from both the United States and Israel.

The dossier remains in its early stages. No details on the coalition’s composition, operational mandate, legal basis, or timeline have been released. Macron acknowledged that it was “too early to say” whether the force would operate alongside the Lebanese army under a multinational mandate or under a new UN mandate. The French and Italian leaders committed to building the broadest possible coalition, with further consultations expected among European allies, regional states, and the Lebanese government. A formal launch conference has been proposed but not yet scheduled.