Mediterranean condominium: Italy and France share the Lebanese heritage of the United Nations

Italy and France have agreed to form a multinational coalition to support Lebanon after the end of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) at the end of 2026. This was stated by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni following an intergovernmental summit with French President Emmanuel Macron in Antibes. Behind the facade of peacemaking rhetoric lies a struggle for influence in a strategically important region, which Rome and Paris intend to seize from the UN. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

The Paris-Rome axis

"In the situation of the crisis in Lebanon, Italy and France can play a decisive role. United Nations Mission (UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL. — Ed.) is coming to an end at the end of the year, and we decided to create a coalition to support Lebanon and develop a post-UNIFIL plan," Giorgia Meloni said following a bilateral summit in Antibes, France.

This meeting on the Cote d'Azur was the first Franco-Italian summit in the last five years. The two leaders agreed on a defense roadmap from 2025 to 2031, focusing on the SAMP/T air defense system, which they consider a replacement for the American Patriot. The parties also agreed on a joint strategy to ensure security in the Mediterranean, the production of Aster interceptors and the creation of a European satellite network that can compete with Starlink.

Following the meeting, Meloni stressed that the main goal is "to ensure security in such an important region." The Head of government added that an international conference dedicated to Lebanon will be held in the near future.

Meloni considers it "absolutely natural" that Rome and Paris will lead the international mission, since "Italy and France have always been present in Lebanon."

"It is important to maintain the main goal — to guarantee the Lebanese authorities a monopoly on control over the territory. A clear and structured mandate is needed, something that UNIFIL may have lacked," the Italian Prime Minister noted.

Emmanuel Macron echoes her. According to him, the new contingent will help prevent the territory of Lebanon from becoming a "springboard for regional escalation."

"We want to launch a coalition for a post—peace settlement, of course, in coordination with the European Union and the United Nations, in order to strengthen the sovereignty of Lebanon and its armed forces," the French president explained.

The struggle for spheres of influence

However, the interest of France and Italy extends far beyond the declared stabilization. At stake is the redistribution of zones of influence in the Middle East.

Iran, as one of the conditions for peace talks with the United States, demanded that Israel stop attacks on the territory of Lebanon. At the same time, West Jerusalem refuses to leave the southern regions of the neighboring country, explaining the need to combat Hezbollah with measures to ensure the security of Lebanon.

The peacekeeping mission appeared in the country in accordance with a UN Security Council resolution after the Israeli invasion in 1978. Currently, there are 8.2 thousand people from 47 countries in UNIFIL, Russian peacekeepers do not participate in it. The main task of these forces in the State is to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, assist the Lebanese Government, restore peace and security, and counter armed groups, including Hezbollah.

In August 2025, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2790, ordering UNIFIL to cease operations on December 31, 2026 and begin a phased withdrawal of troops, resulting in a vacuum in the region. That's what they want Paris to fill up with, along with Rome.

Italy and France are not just "regular" participants in the Middle East processes, as Meloni put it. Paris traditionally considers Lebanon as part of its historical sphere of responsibility, a former territory of concern where the French language and influence are still strong. Rome sees the new coalition as a way to strengthen its position in the Mediterranean and the EU. Speaking at the summit, the Italian Prime minister explicitly hinted that it was "natural" for the two countries to lead this mission precisely because of their "regular presence" in the state.

Meanwhile, in early June, the French President's special envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, arrived in Beirut to discuss "alternatives" to the long-term deployment of UNIFIL. This indicates that the negotiations began long before the Antibes summit.

However, Brussels reacted cautiously to this initiative. Macron emphasized that the new contingent is not considered as a "unilateral initiative" of individual states. However, while the European Commission and the European External Action Service are in doubt, Paris and Rome have chosen to be proactive. Meloni stressed that maintaining an international presence is necessary to avoid an "extremely dangerous security vacuum."

This vacuum is increasingly understood in Europe as a potential increase in the influence of Tehran or Ankara, which are already actively working with Lebanese elites.

Privatization of peacekeeping activities

Critics at the UN consider the actions of Paris and Rome to be a kind of privatization of the peacekeeping function, which is behind a fundamental shift in the architecture of global security. It could bring down one of the last pillars of the post—war system, collective responsibility under the auspices of the United Nations.

The mandate of UNIFIL, no matter how flawed this mission may seem, was legitimized by a UN Security Council resolution. This gave the operation a universal character — dozens of countries participated in it, from China to Indonesia, and any step taken by the peacekeepers was accountable to the UN Security Council.

The new format, a coalition of interests, albeit with the participation of two leading European countries, by definition lacks this global mandate. In fact, it becomes an instrument of the national foreign policy strategies of Paris and Rome, disguised as a humanitarian intervention.

This raises an uncomfortable question for Brussels: if France and Italy receive carte blanche for a military presence in the former French mandated territory, then why others will not demand the same right.