“October 23, 1983 remains a dark date in the history of the French army. That day, 58 French paratroopers lost their lives in the explosion of the Drakkar, a building which housed one of the Force’s cantonments multinational security company in Beirut, Lebanon. In the midst of a devastating war, this attack marked the deadliest day for the French army since the end of the Indochina War in 1954.
The Multinational Security Force was created in September 1982 by the UN with the aim of protecting the Lebanese civilian population and assisting the Lebanese government in restoring its authority. The troops mainly included American, Italian and French troops, with more than 2,000 French soldiers, including young people called up as volunteers from May 1983.
The Drakkar attack was the second in a series of two attacks that targeted the FMSB that day. Before the explosion that destroyed the building, a truck bomb struck the US military headquarters, killing 241 people, including 220 US Marines. A few minutes later, the Drakkar was hit by a huge explosion, causing the death of 58 French soldiers, as well as the wife of the building’s caretaker and her four children.
In the days following the attack, emergency workers searched the rubble looking for survivors. Only 15 injured soldiers were found alive, while three others miraculously escaped death by being outside the building at the time of the explosion. The funeral of French soldiers killed in Beirut took place on November 2, gathering the coffins in the courtyard of the Invalides in Paris, in the presence of President François Mitterrand and many political figures.
The United States attributed the preparation of these attacks to Lebanese Hezbollah, supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to them, these attacks were a response to Western support for Iraq in the war against Iran. However, many questions persisted regarding the exact circumstances of the Longship’s explosion. Some survivors and witnesses questioned the official theory that a suicide truck drove into the building, saying they did not see any vehicles enter the French cantonment.
40 years after this tragedy, the memory of these French soldiers remains alive. Every year, on October 23, a parade is organized at Les Invalides to commemorate their sacrifice. It is an opportunity to pay tribute to these men who lost their lives while serving their country, and to recall the importance of peace and security in the world. The tragedy of the Drakkar will remain forever engraved in the French collective memory, and it is essential to remember these heroes who fell in the service of the nation.”