French MP Meyer Habib, who serves as deputy chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs committee, is demanding that France declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization, as Germany has done recently.
Habib said that in the wake of the deadly explosion in Beirut "the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah's grip on Lebanon is the only question that should concern us today."
"The Lebanese are now declaring this loud and clear: The disaster is a direct result of the Islamic Republic of Iran's takeover of the Land of the Cedars. Already a year ago, on July 23, 2019, I wrote a letter to the President of France asking to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization," Habib recalled.
He continued, "Hezbollah has a lot of French blood on its hands and our country was even one of its first victims.”
"Like Germany, France must declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization and remove the artificial distinction between the military and political arm. After the French President's decisive remarks in Beirut, it is time to take action for the Lebanese people, to allow them to regain the reins of their citizens' collective destiny. This is the most concrete, the bravest and most powerful gesture that France can do now,” said Habib.
“The United States, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Britain, not to mention many Arab countries and Latin America did so years ago. On May 1, Germany also took action. What is France waiting for?" Habib wondered.
Shortly after Germany backlisted Hezbollah, it was reported that it had received intelligence information from Israel that helped formulate the declaration that Hezbollah will be outlawed.
In 2013, the European Union blacklisted Hezbollah's “military wing” as a terrorist organization, while failing to blacklist the group’s political arm.
In March of 2019, the British government designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Earlier this year, Britain's finance ministry added the entire Hezbollah organization to its list of terrorist groups subject to asset freezing.
Hezbollah plays a major role in Lebanese politics and is a key player in its government.