Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna took off this Saturday morning from Villacoublay airport (Yvelines) to reach Lebanon, in a context of growing tensions with Israel. But shortly before 10 a.m. (French time), above the Adriatic Sea, the Falcon had to turn around, the fault of “an in-flight breakdown”, explained the ministry.
This breakdown is linked to a technical problem, the Élysée confirmed to Le Parisien.
Plane trajectory monitoring sites indicate that the government aircraft landed again at Villacoublay airport in the morning. And he won’t leave right away.
Visit to Lebanon postponed until Monday
The visit to Lebanon is in fact postponed until Monday, the Quai d’Orsay explains to Le Parisien. However, the same program must be maintained. Catherine Colonna will begin her trip not with Lebanon but with a visit to Israel on Sunday, which was already planned. Here too the program should remain the same.
However, the ministry could not confirm whether the minister was going to leave for Israel this Saturday, or Sunday morning.
In Beirut, Catherine Colonna was to speak with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the head of Parliament Nabih Berri, ally of Hezbollah and probably the commander in chief of the Lebanese army, General Joseph Aoun, a diplomatic source said on Friday. She was also due to have a briefing with the UNIFIL commander in the Lebanese capital.
The objective of this trip is “to avoid regional conflagration”, while clashes are taking place on the border with Israel. The minister must also visit Israel and the Palestinian territories.
2023-12-16 15:36:10
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