The issue of disarming Hezbollah and restoring Lebanon’s full sovereignty stands at the centre of the international agenda today, requiring decisive and concerted action from European powers.
For a long time, the international community turned a blind eye to the unique phenomenon in Lebanon, where a legal political party simultaneously owned a powerful army, surpassing the state’s in strength. Nevertheless, recent tectonic shifts in the Middle East ranging from devastating blows to the group’s command structure to the fall of its ally, the Assad regime in Syria, have finally shattered the myth of “Hezbollah” as an “invincible shield.”
The group, which for years justified its arsenal by the need to defend the southern borders, has dragged the country into a catastrophic confrontation. It was not under attack, but became a hostage to foreign geopolitical ambitions. The masks have come off: Lebanon is exhausted, and its citizens no longer wish to pay for regional proxy wars.
The legal basis for change is in place and leaves no room for interpretation. UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the historic Taif Accords, ending the civil war, explicitly require that there should be no weapons and no authority in the country other than the official Lebanese state.
The Lebanese government has already taken a bold and unprecedented step by approving the Armed Forces’ comprehensive plan to restore the state’s monopoly on the use of force. Yet in response, Hezbollah’s weakening leadership continues to declare that the Cabinet’s decisions “do not exist” for them. In these circumstances, it is clear without firm external pressure, the internal dialogue in Beirut is doomed to remain paralysed by fear of foreign automatic weapons.
The international community, including France and the EU, is constantly seeking a balance between exerting diplomatic pressure on Lebanon to carry out internal reforms and the need to maintain stability in the region. In this context, the statements by François-Xavier Bellamy, a French politician and one of the prominent leaders of the current conservative movement in France, underscore the need for substantial support.
“France and Europe must concretely support the disarmament of Hezbollah. Not only because it is a legal obligation provided for in United Nations resolutions, nor solely because the Lebanese government has clearly indicated that it is the path to follow. I think above all that no democracy can preserve its freedom with a party that is also an armed militia. It is normal for a party to exist. But for it to possess an armed force constitutes an obstacle to the freedom of political debate. Hezbollah, which claimed that its reason for being was to protect Lebanon against Israel, has today, in a certain way, definitively unmasked itself. Lebanon was not under attack when it was dragged into a new war. And I believe it is time for Lebanon to regain normality and peace,” reads the post on his X.
Regardless, such an approach may face obstacles, as modern democracy is unable to preserve its freedom, stability and internal peace if a political party operates within it that is simultaneously a powerful armed militia. In the meantime, France and Europe as a whole cannot afford to remain passive observers, limiting their response to routine calls for de-escalation. Paris is bound to Beirut by deep historical ties, and it is French diplomacy that must lead the process of genuine, rather than merely nominal, disarmament of the militia.
The international donor conferences led by France, the US and Saudi Arabia are providing support for the modernisation and urgent reinforcement of the Lebanese regular army, so that the Lebanese Armed Forces can fill the security vacuum in the south of the country. However, financial support is not enough — a strict international cordon sanitaire is needed around Iranian supply channels, along with the uncompromising diplomatic isolation of those attempting to hold Lebanon hostage.
The very existence of a political party is normal. However, having its own military forces poses an insurmountable obstacle to free political debate. The fact that one faction possesses its own arsenal of missiles completely undermines the very essence of free discussion, turning the institutions of government into hostages to military might.
Therefore, only through the complete disarmament of non-state groups and the restoration of the rule of law will Lebanon be able to overcome its protracted crisis, regain the trust of the international community and guarantee its citizens a peaceful and predictable future.
