France is willing to contribute more troops to a U.N. force in south Lebanon that will be significantly reinforced under a new Security Council resolution, President Jacques Chirac said Saturday. In a statement welcoming the unanimous adoption of the U.S. and French-drafted resolution, Chirac said France will «play a role in putting the new resolution into place, particularly in regards to the new UNIFIL,» the U.N. force in south Lebanon that will be beefed up. The resolution seeks a «full cessation» of violence between Israel and Hezbollah and authorizes 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israeli forces that have occupied the area withdraw. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said France planned to consult with other European countries on the issue. «We will examine with our European partners the additional support that we could bring, and the president will decide,» Douste-Blazy told Le Monde newspaper. «We want to do it in a European spirit. «We already participate in UNIFIL, and we are completely willing to participate in a reinforced UNIFIL,» he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
