French soldiers from the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) take part in a medal parade held ahead of next week's troop rotation at their base in the sourthern Lebanese town of Tireh, near the border with Israel, on September 15, 2009. With a 1,600-strong force of "blue helmets", France is the second largest contributor to UNIFIL, beefed up after the UN-brokered truce between Lebanon and Hezbollah took effect in August 2006. According to a UNIFIL statement released on September 15, 2009, France has lost 28 soldiers during service in Lebanon since it started sending peacekeeping troops to the east Mediterranean country in 1978. AFP PHOTO/MAHMOUD ZAYAT (Photo credit should read MAHMOUD ZAYAT/AFP/Getty Images)