Sources revealed to "Nidaa al-Watan" that "the Shiite duo recently sent a mediator to Paris to inform the French side unofficially that Sleiman Frangieh, the head of the Marada Movement, is the 'duo's' candidate. However, the main obstacle to announcing his candidacy lies in the opposition of the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, to this nomination. From this standpoint, the decision to meet with Bassil was made with Qatari endorsement to listen to his viewpoint regarding the presidential election." The sources pointed out that French officials quickly realized that Bassil "had nothing to offer other than an attempt to 'sell' the French administration some names and ideas that converge at a single point centered around the concern of obstructing Frangieh's presidential path."
To this end, the sources indicated that the head of the "Free Patriotic Movement" sought to convince the French officials to consider a set of names he proposed, operating on the basis of "exchange and services," an approach that did not resonate well with the French side, particularly since Bassil presented these names during discussions by stating: "These names are close to you, and I am ready to endorse them," suggesting that Paris was engaged in "buying and selling in the Lebanese presidential market." The revealed names proposed by Bassil in France included "Jihad Azour, Ziad Baroud, and George Khoury," with a promise to ensure any of them have the "Christian covenant" that Frangieh lacks due to the refusal of Christian blocs to elect him.
