Regarding the anticipated return of the French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian to Beirut, as he pledged at the end of his last visit, the date for this visit has yet to be set. However, the French ambassador to Lebanon, Hervé Magro, hinted during his tour of Lebanese leaders that he intends to return this month. Le Drian has not specified when he will return, as his visit is tied to a series of communications he will have with the member countries of the quintet committee, which includes, in addition to France, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar.
"Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" has learned that Le Drian will not bring any new developments on his fifth visit to Beirut that can be relied upon to favor the third presidential option over the other options, based on his conviction that there is no alternative to resolving the election of the president amidst the deadlock that has led to a cyclical impasse.
According to information, Le Drian will return immediately after concluding his consultations with representatives of the countries in the quintet committee, but he will not engage in the game of names when asked about this or that candidate, as stated by the French ambassador to those he met this week. Instead, he will focus, in coordination with the quintet committee, on the characteristics that the future president should possess and the presidential priorities necessary to rescue Lebanon from its crisis.
Le Drian will not delve into names and remains committed to the third presidential choice, considering the current prospects for the two competing candidates, former MP Sleiman Frangieh of the "Mardig" Movement and former minister Jihad Azour, are slim due to their inability to secure the parliamentary votes needed to reach the presidency.
The question remains: Will Le Drian resume his movement with unambiguous political cover from the quintet? Or does the hindrance to the French initiative stem from Paris not receiving a green light from Washington, on the grounds that the U.S. has decided to directly engage in the presidential file? This leads him to prepare a "specifications dossier" for the characteristics of the president.
