A high-ranking French source indicated that French President Emmanuel Macron has included the Lebanese issue in his discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two sides agreed on the need to find individuals capable of implementing the required reforms in Lebanon. While they did not speculate on a specific candidate for the presidency, the focus was on the reform program. They also agreed to coordinate on ways to follow up on the political phase in Lebanon based on the reform program and urged the Lebanese to reach a consensus on electing a president, without going into further details on the matter. Macron reminded the Saudi Crown Prince about sending humanitarian financial aid to Lebanon.
When "An-Nahar" asked the same French source whether the head of the "Free Patriotic Movement," Deputy Gebran Bassil, had proposed a solution to the presidential election dilemma during his recent visit to Paris when he met Macron's advisor, the source responded that he had not presented any solution and "should contribute to facilitating the election of a president for Lebanon, and this process may take time."
Regarding whether France has a solution initiative, the source stated, "Only President Macron constantly initiates dialogue about Lebanon; he talks with the Saudi Crown Prince and then, after 15 days, will raise the topic with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington. This itself is considered an initiative because no one else is discussing Lebanon except Macron. There are no meetings or French conferences as rumored. Macron previously visited Lebanon and held a meeting with party leaders, but faced criticism from everyone and will not do that again."
The responsible source revealed that the French President discussed with the Saudi Crown Prince the topic of holding the "Baghdad 2" conference in Amman, which will gather regional forces at the highest level, and that bin Salman agreed to participate, although a date for the conference has not yet been determined.
