Macron Hosts Jordan's Abdullah and Lebanon's Aoun in Paris to Rally Support for Lebanese Army

French President Emmanuel Macron met Jordan's King Abdullah II and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Paris on Thursday, bringing the three leaders together at the Invalides for talks aimed at mustering support for Lebanon's struggling military.

Macron greeted Abdullah before the two held a bilateral meeting, and was later joined by Aoun for a trilateral session. The meeting centred on preparing the ground for a donor conference for the Lebanese army, according to Aoun's office, and on the situation in southern Lebanon, including plans for an international presence there once the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, expires at the end of the year.

A donor conference for Lebanon's cash-strapped army had initially been scheduled for February, led by France, Saudi Arabia and the United States. It was postponed after the outbreak of the Iran war and the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The Lebanese army now finds itself squeezed between the Israeli military, which occupies much of southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah, which has refused calls to surrender its weapons. In June, the Lebanese and Israeli governments announced a framework agreement under which Israel would withdraw gradually from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army would take control and Hezbollah would be disarmed. Implementation of that deal has stalled.

Hezbollah was severely weakened in the last war, which ended in November 2024. Lebanon subsequently elected Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who pledged to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups. Israel and the United States have criticised Lebanon for not taking direct military action to force the group to disarm, while Lebanese officials are wary of a confrontation between the army and Hezbollah, fearing it could spiral into civil war.

The government has insisted it needs a larger and better-equipped military to deploy across the country and to win over Hezbollah supporters who doubt the army's ability to protect them. Lebanon's military is underfunded and underequipped, and has for years relied heavily on international donors, notably the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

Saudi Arabia had initially earmarked $3 billion in 2013 to support the Lebanese army with French weapons, but halted the aid in 2016 as Hezbollah's political power grew and ties between the Lebanese government and the kingdom deteriorated. Since Lebanon's fiscal crisis in late 2019, many soldiers have left the military or taken second jobs, and the force has struggled to pay adequate salaries as inflation has soared and state budgets have shrunk.