French defense minister Catherine Vautrin attended a national tribute ceremony on Thursday in Montauban in memory of a soldier who was killed in an attack on peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Staff Sgt. Florian Montorio, of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment from Montauban, died after the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon UNIFIL came under attack from small arms fire over the weekend
French President Emmanuel Macron announced a second French soldier master corporal Anicet Girardin died Wednesday from his injuries.
Both Macron and UNIFIL have blamed the militant group Hezbollah, which has denied involvement.
Vautrin said French soldiers were clearing a route rigged with an improvised explosive device when they became engaged by heavy fire from Hezbollah fighters lying in ambush at very close range.