Today's Edition
Paris (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday his country would support Lebanon with 100 million euros, as Paris hosted an aid conference with big financial aims.
"The war must end as soon as possible, there must be a ceasefire in Lebanon," Macron said sitting alongside the country's Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
The Lebanese government chief in turn called on "the international community to hold together and support efforts... to implement an immediate ceasefire".
France has set a target of raising half a billion euros ($540 million) in aid for Lebanon, 100 million more than an initial UN appeal.
Paris is also seeking an increase in humanitarian aid for a country to which it has historic ties and which has a large diaspora in France.
The latest conflict has so far claimed more than 1,550 lives, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, and displaced 800,000 people according to the UN.
