Trudeau headed to Francophonie summit, Lebanon war to cast shadow over meeting

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed to France today for the Francophonie summit, where the shadow of war in the Middle East will likely loom large.

The meeting of French-speaking countries, which happens every two years, will be held Thursday and Friday in Villers-Cotterêts and Paris.

France is taking over the presidency of the Francophonie from Tunisia and says the summit’s theme is to “create, innovate and do business in French.”

The broadening war in the Middle East that affects Francophonie member Lebanon is likely to loom large over the discussions.

In the last week, exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have erupted into wider violence involving Iran, escalating the conflict in ways most global governments had been hoping to prevent.

A senior government official says Canada will try to arrange a conversation with representatives for Lebanon at the summit.