Engaged in Operation Daman within UNIFIL, master corporal Anicet Girardin, of the 132nd cynotechnic infantry regiment of Suippes, died Wednesday morning, after being injured Saturday during an ambush in Lebanon attributed to Hezbollah.

Published on: 04/22/2026 - 4:17 p.m. Modified on: 04/22/2026 - 6:55 p.m.

Emmanuel Macron announced that a second French soldier from UNIFIL, the UN mission in Lebanon, died on Wednesday April 22 "from his injuries" inflicted in Lebanon "by Hezbollah fighters" in "the same ambush" which killed adjutant Florian Montorio on Saturday.

Also read: A French UNIFIL soldier killed in Lebanon in an ambush attributed to Hezbollah

“Master Corporal Anicet Girardin of the 132nd cynotechnic infantry regiment of Suippes, repatriated yesterday from Lebanon where he had been seriously injured by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning as a result of his injuries,” declared the French president on the X network.

“In the service of France and peace in Lebanon”

"He died for France. The Nation, which tomorrow will pay tribute to Warrant Officer Florian Montorio, fatally injured during the same ambush, salutes with emotion the memory of Master Corporal Anicet Girardin and his sacrifice," he added, also addressing "its deep compassion" to his loved ones and those of the other injured.

The Head of State also paid "tribute to the exemplary commitment of our armies within UNIFIL, who work with courage and determination in the service of France and peace in Lebanon."

These soldiers were caught in an ambush against peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in which two other French soldiers were injured.

French authorities immediately attributed the attack to the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement active in southern Lebanon, something the Shiite Islamist group denied.

Dog handler for almost ten years

Aged 31, Anicet Girardin was "violently attacked by heavy fire from Hezbollah fighters ambushed at a very short distance, he was helping his element leader who had just fallen when he in turn was seriously hit", specified on X the Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin.

“France pays tribute to the sacrifice of this soldier, dog handler for almost ten years, who chose to put his talent, his youth and his courage in the service of his country,” she added.

The army also paid tribute on It had already been deployed in 2019 in Lebanon, then in Mali.

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Fabien Mandon, expressed his “great sadness” and his “support for his family, his loved ones and his brothers in arms of the 132nd Cynotechnic Infantry Regiment”.

A “solemn tribute” will be paid to him during the commemorations of May 7 and 8, announced the mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet, on Instagram.

Tribute ceremony Thursday for the first soldier killed

“Honor to the second French soldier (...) murdered in his interposition role,” wrote Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France insoumise (LFI), on X. “France must authorize the response of its soldiers when they are attacked, whoever the aggressor,” he added.

“France must speak clearly and act: demand justice, support the legitimate Lebanese forces and refuse to allow this country to be confiscated by an armed militia serving foreign interests,” Bruno Retailleau, president of the Les Républicains (LR) party, posted on X.

In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun "once again condemned (...) the shootings against French peacekeepers" and "renewed his condolences to France and the UNIFIL command".

Visiting Paris the day before, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he was following "personally the progress of the investigation" into this ambush. “Such acts cannot go unpunished from now on,” he added.

A national tribute ceremony to Chief Sergeant Florian Montorio will take place Thursday in his regiment, the 17th Parachute Engineering Regiment of Montauban, in the presence of the Minister of the Armed Forces and the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Pierre Schill.

Another French soldier, Major Arnaud Frion, was killed in mid-March in Iraq in a drone attack attributed to a pro-Iranian militia in the Erbil region, where he was participating in an anti-jihadist training mission.

In recent weeks, France has been emphasizing its non-belligerent position in the conflict in the Middle East. Emmanuel Macron estimated Monday that Hezbollah had not targeted the soldiers “because they were French”. “They targeted them because they had the mission of being alongside the civilian populations,” he declared during a trip to Poland.

With AFP

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