Chirac Pledges 2,000 Troops for U.N. Force in Lebanon

[Admin]

France will send a total of 2,000 troops for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, President Jacques Chirac announced Thursday.

More... (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,210251,00.html)

[Beatrix]

The article mentions it was a "face-saving gesture" from France. It was the commander of the UN peacekeeping force, yet Italy is willing to send 3,000 troops.
France, along with the United States, helped craft the U.N. Security Council resolution that called for the expansion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, from the current 2,000 troops to 15,000. They are to join an equal number of Lebanese troops in preserving the shaky cease-fire by making sure Hezbollah does not fire any more rockets or carry out more raids into Israel.
So ensuring the cease-fire continues is the reason behind deploying troops to Lebanon. The Hezbollah should be stopped. I suppose if this group doesn't fire at Israel, then Israel will also not fire at Lebanon.