The Iranians are the big losers because the war kills the contestation, estimates Georges Malbrunot

Publication Date: April 22, 2026 23:09

Last Updated: April 22, 2026 23:09

Reading Time: 6 min – Video: 26 min

Georges Malbrunot, a senior reporter at Le Figaro specializing in the Middle East and author of “Investigation on the new master of the Middle East”, published by Michel Lafon editions, was the guest on “Tout est politique”. He discussed the death of the second French soldier in Lebanon from the Finul, Chief Corporal Anicet Girardin, and the 54-day war in the Middle East.

This text is a partial transcript of the above interview. Click on the video to watch the full interview.

Today, we learned of the death of a second French soldier from Finul, succumbing to his injuries during the same ambush in Lebanon that claimed the life of Sergeant Florian Montorio over the weekend. French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to them for their exemplary commitment within Finul, which works for peace in Lebanon. Do you have any information tonight that clarifies the conditions of this ambush?

Georges Malbrunot: Apparently, according to a source within Finul, the French soldiers on patrol were looking to remove an improvised explosive device placed by Hezbollah on the roadside to target Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. The French soldiers did their job, which was to remove the explosive device. Then they found themselves facing Hezbollah fighters. At that moment, there was an exchange of fire, resulting in the death of a French soldier. That’s how it happened, as mentioned by the President. There is all this information available, of course. The French soldiers were not targeted as French, but rather as a disruption by Finul to both the Israelis and Hezbollah. After the Finul convoy left, other Hezbollah men reportedly reinstalled the improvised explosive device to target Israeli soldiers.

Henri Verney: Can these incidents, despite their repetition, since there have been multiple victims, injuries, and deaths within Finul, call into question the presence of Finul on this terrain, especially considering that its mandate is supposed to end by the end of this year?

No, they will not call it into question. I spoke with a Finul official who said, as it was previously mentioned, it is very regrettable. It is obviously very regrettable, but it is part of the job, and it is not the first time. As you just mentioned, there were two Indonesians killed by Israel. The Finul soldiers are caught in the crossfire. The Israeli army does not want anyone to witness its actions, even against French soldiers, conducting unfriendly operations. Meanwhile, Hezbollah also does not want anyone interfering.

Finul is responsible for verifying Hezbollah disarmament with the Lebanese army, and Hezbollah is not interested in complete disarmament. We are in a very fragile position, but Finul will remain until the end of the year. Yesterday, Emmanuel Macron mentioned a project where France, Italy, and Spain, as other significant contributors, will continue to be there, not under the UN mandate, but under a different mandate to support the Lebanese army, which is somewhat ineffective because it has not managed to disarm Hezbollah. They may not want to deploy north of the yellow line today, which is an Israeli-occupied zone. But north of this zone, about three kilometers wide, the Lebanese army could deploy, not to disarm Hezbollah but to be present and be alongside the population. The Lebanese Prime Minister said today that they need to reclaim sovereignty over all of Lebanon. It is time, but they are not doing it enough, which is a bit unfortunate.

Alice Ruffault, French Minister Delegate to the Armed Forces, commented this morning on France’s military presence within Finul and on this territory.

The Finul mandate as it exists today will expire since the decision was made last summer. Until the end of the year, we will remain engaged until the end of this mission and are at the disposal of the Lebanese authorities to work on the framework that follows. In the current situation, it is not necessarily the time to have these conversations because there are many things to address. But we are available to support the agenda of the Lebanese authorities to ensure the monopoly of weapons in Lebanon, especially in southern Lebanon.

Watch the full interview in the video above.