French peacekeeper killed by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Macron says

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday announced the death of a French soldier serving with the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, blaming the Hezbollah militant group and demanding Beirut immediately arrest those responsible.

“Chief Sergeant Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment from Montauban fell this morning in southern Lebanon during an attack against UNIFIL,” Macron wrote on X Saturday afternoon. “Three of his brothers-in-arms are wounded and have been evacuated.”

UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, said initial assessments indicated the fire came from “non-state actors,” allegedly Hezbollah, and that it had opened an investigation into what it described as “a deliberate attack.”

“Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” Macron said. “France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest those responsible and assume their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL.”

The Lebanese government “strongly condemned” the killing and called for an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the incident.

The killing came on the second day of a fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by Washington. It deepens pressure on European troop-contributing countries.