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French President Emmanuel Macron is facing renewed criticism for not supporting President Donald Trump’s war against Iran and wants Lebanon to be included in the ongoing investigation as historic talks between Israel and Lebanon begin on Tuesday.
The historic meeting organized by President Trump between Lebanon, which was previously authorized by France, and Israel will be held at the diplomatic level as the prospects for the agreement change – most notably without the involvement of France. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to host the embassies of both nations.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli government has requested that France be excluded from the negotiations. An Israeli official told the newspaper that “France’s behavior over the past year – including plans aimed at curbing Israel’s ability to fight in Iran, and a complete lack of willingness to take concrete steps to help Lebanon get rid of Hezbollah – has led Israel to view France as an unsuitable mediator.”
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French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at a meeting with President Trump and other world leaders. (Wina McNamee/Getty Images)
on monday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Monday urged the Lebanese government to cancel Tuesday’s meeting in Washington, while describing the talks as futile. In a televised speech, Qassem said the armed group will continue to face Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Hezbollah violated the ceasefire agreement with Iran, in March when it launched rockets into Israel after the start of the US-Israeli joint attack on the Islamic Republic, and now Macron is still demanding that Israel stop attacking Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon.
Israeli Brig. General (Res.) Yosef Kuperwasser told Fox News Digital that Macron “is working against the interests of the Lebanese state and government. This is a very problematic direction.” He accused Macron of “taking the side of Hezbollah and normalizing Hezbollah because he is focused on “small interests.”
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Hezbollah al-Mahdi held a parade with large pictures of the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, in front, and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the background, during the ceremony of Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Thursday, August 1, 2013 in many Muslim countries on the last Friday of Ramadan. Al-Quds Day, as a way to express support for the Palestinians and emphasize the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)
The former head of research at the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, Kuperwasser, added that “the Americans want us to cooperate with the Lebanese and the military. [in Lebanon]. Our expectations are very similar. We want to see Lebanon do something about Hezbollah, something real, not just issuing statements and promises. We believe that we have helped them by weakening Hezbollah militarily since they decided to fire missiles on March 2. If there is success, we have a lot to gain for Lebanon,” but he said that it should “free Hezbollah.”
Macron has faced accusations over the years that he has normalized Hezbollah. His government, unlike Germany, the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Austria and many other Western and Western countries, refuses to designate the entire Hezbollah organization as a terrorist organization. France has designated Hezbollah’s “military wing” as a terrorist organization but refused to ban its “political wing.” Hezbollah considers itself a unified organization without branches.
French politician François-Xavier Bellamy, a member of the European Parliament of the Republican Party, last week he said on French television that “France must stop normalizing Hezbollah.” Macron sparked outrage in 2020 when he reportedly had a private conversation with a senior elected official of Hezbollah, according to Paris-based newspaper Le Figaro.
Smoke rises from Israeli airfields in Dahiyeh, a suburb south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Edy Cohen, an Israeli security expert on Hezbollah, who was born in Lebanon, told Fox News Digital, “France is forced to fail against Hezbollah to legitimize its involvement in Lebanon.”
A French diplomat told the Times of Israel that “what we hope for is not a ticket to the meeting, but that Israel stops its attacks on Lebanon.”
When asked if France would pressure Lebanon to recognize Israel as a state, Pascal Confavreux, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, told Fox News Sunday, “Iran should stop harassing Israel through Hezbollah because Hezbollah has chosen to bring Lebanon into a war that is not a Lebanese war…
It is not known whether France asked for a seat in these negotiations. Fox News Digital sent several media inquiries to the French embassies in Washington DC and Tel Aviv.
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Hezbollah launched long-range missiles from Lebanon into northern Israel within 48 hours of attacking Iran, fueling the conflict amid Operation Epic Fury. (Hadi Mizban/AP)
On Saturday, Macron again pushed his desire to end the war and wrote in X that he had talks with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on Saturday: “I stressed the importance of fully respecting the ceasefire, including in Lebanon. France conveys its full support to the actions of the Lebanese authorities, which are the only ones authorized to exercise the sovereignty of the State and decide the fate of Lebanon.”
Walid Phares, an expert on Lebanon and the region, told Fox News Digital that while the talks are important, there are problems. “It is at the diplomatic level, which means it is not meant to reach the highest decision-making level.”
He added, “Surprisingly, the Lebanese president and the prime minister refused to invite the Lebanese foreign minister to the talks in Washington, provoking the representation of Israel, and at the diplomatic level, which shows that Hezbollah still has great power in the Lebanese government. The military is rejected by the people on the ground and they fear that the DC meeting will again expel Hezbollah.”
Iran rebuilds Hezbollah ties as Trump gives 10-15 day deadline. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto)
Sethrida Geagea, a member of parliament for the Lebanese Forces party, sent to X before the Israel-Lebanon talks an open letter to Nabih Berri, the powerful speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and the leader of the Shiite Amal Movement. He issued an indirect criticism of Hezbollah and its terrorist organization within the state. Geagea urged Berri to unite the Lebanese so that they can be “protected by a single army.”
Without naming Hezbollah, his book said young Shiites are mired in a war they are not affiliated with and the conflict is actually about Iran’s decision to retaliate for the US-Israeli joint war that killed the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on February 28.
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The State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital media inquiry.
Reuters contributed to this report.
