France is to reduce its U.N. peacekeeping contingent in southern Lebanon by 400, just under a third of its troops there.

France is to reduce its U.N. peacekeeping contingent in southern Lebanon by 400, just under a third of its troops there, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

A statement from the ministry said the decision had been taken in agreement with the United Nations and with Lebanon following a strategic review of the mission of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters the French force would be reduced to around 1,000 troops. UNIFIL as a whole has around 12,000 soldiers from 35 countries and is led by a large Italian contingent.

The force was created in 1978 to help Lebanon restore government control over southern Lebanon after the Israeli brutal invasion, and it was beefed up in 2006 after the July war the Zionist entity launched against Lebanon.

In August last year, France welcomed the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon revision of UNIFIL's strategy, which it said called for the U.N. force to become "lighter but more effective" and to accelerate the handover of responsibility for security to the Lebanese army.

"France reiterates its full support for the essential role of UNIFIL in support of the stability, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon," Valero said, in his statement.