Unreasonable to expect Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah amid bombings, France says

PARIS, March 18 (Reuters) - It would be unreasonable to expect Lebanon's government to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah while the country is being bombed by Israel, France's special envoy for Lebanon said on Wednesday, adding that only a negotiation would resolve the crisis.

"Israel occupied Lebanon for a very long time and failed to eradicate Hezbollah's military capacity. Therefore, they cannot now ask the Lebanese government to do that job in three days under bombardment," Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Info radio.