A French soldier was killed in Lebanon after being hit by "accidental shot during the preparation of an exercise", announced General Pierre Schill, Chief of the General Staff of the French Land Forces, in a post on the Aix social network, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
Twenty-one-year-old Florian Gillet was on military service in Lebanon as part of an operational cooperation mission for the Lebanese Armed Forces in Sallie in southern Lebanon, Pierre Schill also specified.
Gillet served in the 8th Marine Paratrooper Regiment with operational headquarters in Castres, specified Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin, stating that he was "deeply mourned".
According to a statement from the Ministry of the Armed Forces, Florian Gillet was sent to Lebanon on June 1.
"Despite receiving medical attention as quickly as possible, he died from his wounds", the statement said. In it, the Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces, General Fabien Mandon, paid tribute to the soldier who died during a military operation.
Florian Gillet is the fourth French soldier to die since the start of the war, which began with the Israeli-American military operation against Iran in late February.
In April, two French soldiers – Anise Girardin, 31, and Florian Montorio, 40, part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, lost their lives after falling into an ambush that France and the UN say was organized by the Hezbollah group, AFP recalls.