French interest in Lebanon remains active, especially following President Emmanuel Macron's victory in the second round, with discussions about a Vatican-European-Gulf rescue initiative to prevent Lebanon from falling further and to restore hope to its people, many of whom have lost faith and are considering emigration. Reports indicate that this initiative, which involves Saudi Arabia and the United States, originated from a congratulatory call made by Pope Francis to President Macron after his re-election, during which they discussed ways to prevent Lebanon's collapse. The Pope had intended to visit Lebanon in June, bringing hope to the Lebanese amid the ongoing crisis that has persisted for over three years.
Diplomatic sources convey to "al-Markaziah" that, besides health reasons preventing the visit, there are substantive reasons that led the French and Vatican administrations to advise the Pope to postpone his visit until after the presidential elections, a critical juncture for Lebanon's future direction. The June visit could significantly entangle itself in the ongoing, implicit struggle over Lebanon's political project between the presidential palace, represented by President Michel Aoun and its increasing openness towards Hezbollah and the Arab East, and Bkerke, which opposes this orientation, arguing that the party's arms have become ineffective.
Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi has recently taken this stance, provoking a fierce response from some Shiite sheikhs. Moreover, France currently prefers that the Christian role in Lebanon be directly linked to Rome rather than through religious orders, which France has sought to keep away from political intervention. Macron's France believes that the political approach Rome currently adopts in Lebanon, as embodied by Patriarch Al-Rahi, is the most favorable, though it may need some adjustment if any solution to the complex Lebanese crisis is to succeed.
Thus, the sources conclude that there was a French-Vatican consensus that the Pope's visit before or shortly after the presidential elections could yield much more fruitful results, especially if it were accompanied by initiatives that the French crisis management had been facilitating with the influential forces in Lebanon.
