[BRIEFING] Lebanon, Israel... and France?

Two French soldiers killed in Lebanon by Hezbollah sends Chalin down a rabbit hole. France has had troops in Lebanon since 1978. In those 48 years, Hezbollah went from a nascent militia to the most powerful non-state armed group in the Middle East. France was there for all of it. This is the story of a country that designed Lebanon, embedded its language and laws into its DNA, and then watched from the sidelines as everyone else tore it apart. With Hezbollah at its weakest in 40 years, Lebanon's government declaring its military actions illegal, and Israel and Lebanon talking for the first time since 1983 — the window is open. The question isn't whether France should leave. The question is whether France has the will to finally show up.