French nationals, most of them vulnerable people, have left Lebanon for Paris on board additional commercial flights set up by the Lebanese company Middle East Airlines, French diplomacy announced on Thursday.At the request of Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during a trip to Lebanon on Monday, "Middle East Airlines has set up today (...) at his request two additional flights which have allowed some of our compatriots who wished to do so - in particular those who find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation - to return to France", declared the spokesperson for the Quai d'Orsay Christophe Lemoine, in a press briefing.The French authorities had reserved a total of 200 seats on these flights on behalf of vulnerable people (sick, elderly or isolated).The company also continues to operate two daily flights from Beirut to Paris, "through which our compatriots who wish to do so can leave Lebanon," the spokesperson added."We recall that all travel to Lebanon is formally discouraged," specifies Fre nch diplomacy, which reiterates "the need to put an end to the military escalation in the region and calls on all parties to refrain from any destabilizing action."The Israeli army, which has been increasing air strikes against Hezbollah, has been carrying out ground incursions in southern Lebanon for three days against the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement.Paris also set sail on Monday with an amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA) which should arrive by the end of the week off the coast of Lebanon, accompanied by an escort frigate. The ship could accommodate 1,500 people and make rotations between Lebanon and Cyprus if an evacuation were to be decided.Some 24,000 French nationals are living in Lebanon, the vast majority of whom have dual nationality.Source: Burkina Information Agency
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