France paid a national tribute Thursday morning to Florian Montorio, French peacekeeper killed Saturday in an ambush in Lebanon. The tribute ceremony took place the day after the death of another soldier wounded in the same ambush, bringing to three the number of French soldiers who have died since the start of this war which has engulfed the region.

Published on: 04/23/2026 - 12:43 Modified on: 04/23/2026 - 21:13

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A national tribute was paid in Montauban, Thursday April 23, to Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio, peacekeeper killed Saturday in an ambush in Lebanon and one of three French soldiers dead since the start of the war between Israel and the United States against Iran at the end of February.

Aged 40, Florian Montorio belonged to the 17th parachute engineering regiment (RGP) of Montauban, the only regiment of this type and whose mission is to be parachuted into the theater of operations to facilitate the advance of other troops on the ground.

The tribute ceremony took place the day after the death of another soldier wounded in the same ambush in Lebanon, bringing to three the number of French soldiers who have died since the start of this war which has engulfed the region.

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It was under bright sunshine, on the vast parade ground of the Doumerc barracks, where this unit is based, that the military funeral honors were paid to it, during a ceremony presided over by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin, and the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Pierre Schill, in the presence of Caroline of Monaco, godmother of the regiment.

“Wherever Florian Montorio served, everywhere he distinguished himself,” declared Catherine Vautrin during her speech, specifying that, since 1978, 144 French soldiers have lost their lives in Lebanon.

The soldier, still carried by the "permanent momentum of overtaking", was "hit by direct fire from a small weapon", she said.

French authorities and the UN attributed the attack that caused his death in the Deir-Kifa region to the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah, active in southern Lebanon, which denied any involvement.

On Wednesday, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced that a second French soldier from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), hit in the same ambush, had succumbed to his wounds.

“Constitutes a war crime”

Thursday, Catherine Vautrin also paid tribute to this soldier, Anicet Girardin, 31 years old: “I want to spare a thought for his combat comrade,” she said.

The minister indicated that this 31-year-old master corporal was injured while "he was helping his element leader who had just fallen."

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Attacking identifiable peacekeepers is “constituting a war crime”, underlined for his part, also on Thursday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.

UNIFIL also recalled on Saturday that "deliberate attacks against peacekeepers constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law as well as Security Council resolution 1701, and may amount to war crimes."

Father of two daughters aged 9 and 15, Florian Montorio had joined the 17th RGP in 2021 and was due to return to civilian life “within a few months”, underlined on Saturday the head of this regiment, Colonel Jérémy Akil.

Thursday, after the military ceremony, the town hall of Montauban also organized a "silent march": from the barracks, a procession will leave to reach a church in the town where a mass will be celebrated.

The Montalbanais will be able to "park all along" and "pay homage with their presence to the soldier who was killed", explained to AFP Didier Lallemand, the mayor (UDR) of the city, recalling "the historically very close link" between the army and the local population.

“As soon as the death of this soldier was announced, there was really an emotion that took hold of the town,” he said, emphasizing that “the army in Montauban is 3,500 soldiers, so it’s 3,500 families, these are children who go to school in Montauban, who attend sports clubs, who attend the demonstrations.”

With AFP

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