Macron says France will provide €100 million aid package to support Lebanon

France pledges €100 million in aid for Lebanon to support displaced populations and address the ongoing crisis.

France pledged to provide a €100-million ($108-million) package to support Lebanon at an international conference Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron said “massive aid” is needed to support the country where war between Hezbollah militants and Israel has displaced a million people, killed over 2,500 and deepened an economic crisis.

“In the immediate term, massive aid is needed for the Lebanese population, both for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the war and for the communities hosting them,” Mr. Macron said in his opening speech at the conference.

French organizers hope participants’ financial pledges of humanitarian aid will meet the $426 million the United Nations says is urgently needed.

Italy this week announced new aid of €10 million ($10.8 million) and Germany on Wednesday pledged an additional €60 million ($64.7 million) for people in Lebanon.

Mr. Macron condemned Israel for continuing its military operations in Lebanon, "in the South, in Beirut, elsewhere, and that the number of civilian victims continues to rise,” and reiterated his call for a ceasefire.

Paris also seeks to help restore Lebanon's sovereignty and strengthen its institutions. The country, where Hezbollah effectively operates as a state within a state, has been without a President for two years while political factions fail to agree on a new one.

But the international conference comes as critics say French President Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic approach in the Middle East has been blurred by his apparent evolving approach and sometimes chaotic communication.