Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea during an interview with al-Jadeed channel on April 24, 2023. (Credit: Twitter/@DrSamirGeagea)
BEIRUT — Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused France of supporting Hezbollah's presidential candidate Sleiman Frangieh to serve its "common interests" with the Shiite party. "France is leading a battle to get Sleiman Frangieh to the head of the state because it has common interests with Hezbollah, especially regarding the ports of Beirut and Tripoli and in other matters," the head of the LF said in a long interview Sunday with the Al Jadeed TV channel.
Several French groups are involved in major projects related to Lebanese infrastructure. In 2022, the French shipping giant CMA CGM won the contract to manage the container terminal at the Port of Beirut. In addition, the French company TotalEnergies is part of the consortium in charge of exploiting Lebanon's offshore gas in blocks 4 and 9, alongside Italy's Eni and QatarEnergy.
"Hezbollah is the one who collaborates the most with the embassies," continued Geagea.
The French ambassador "Anne Grillo told me clearly that her country believes that the solution [to the political crisis] is to elect Sleiman Frangieh, and I told her that we do not support this proposal," he said.
Many observers believe France is promoting a deal, under which the leader of the Marada Movement would be elected president in exchange for the appointment of Nawaf Salam, former Lebanese ambassador to the UN and current judge at the International Court of Justice, as the first prime minister-designate under the new president.
This information was denied by Paris, whose Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that France does "not have a candidate in Lebanon."
Facing Frangieh, the candidate supported by the LF and other parties opposed to Hezbollah is Michel Moawad. However, Moawad has not so far garnered sufficient votes in parliamentary electoral sessions to be named Michel Aoun's successor as president.
Geagea added, "The fact that France is linked to Hezbollah's candidate does not reflect its true identity as a country that protects democracy and human rights.”
According to the LF leader, "There is no change in the position of Saudi Arabia or American flexibility regarding the election of Sleiman Frangieh." He also said that "if the latter [Frangieh] is elected, the doors of Arab countries will close more before Lebanon."
'No breakthrough soon'
"There will be no breakthrough in the presidential election," said the head of the LF. The equation of Hezbollah is clear: it is either its candidate or the vacuum, which we refuse," Geagea added.
On Sunday, Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem wrote in a tweet that "Sleiman Frangieh gathered a good number of parliamentary votes,” adding, "the country is facing two candidates: one of them is serious, the other is the vacuum … all the data on the local scene and regional developments do not presage a change.”
Reacting to these remarks Geagea said that "consultations are continuing away from the spotlight with all the opposition parties.”
"If Nabih Berri calls the Parliament to an election session, we will attend unless the candidate of the moumanaa [pro-Iranian axis in Lebanon] can win. We are capable [of causing a lack of quorum] without the [FPM's] Strong Lebanon parliamentary group," Geagea stressed.
The LF has 19 MPs in Parliament, while the FPM (Free Patriotic Movement), headed by Gebran Bassil has 17. The quorum required to hold a parliamentary election session is 86 out of 128 MPs for the first round of voting and 64 for subsequent rounds. However, Parliament Speaker Berri considers that each first vote in a new session constitutes a new first round and therefore requires the presence of 86 MPs.
Dialogue with Frangieh and Bassil
Regarding the possibility of dialogue with Christian leaders, Geagea said, "The LF discussed with Sleiman Frangieh the change of his positions when we approached Marada, but he refused, and we distanced ourselves again after we lost hope."
On the subject of an agreement with the head of the FPM, Geagea said, "This is impossible unless he decides to vote for our candidate." Geagea added that he is ready to "communicate with everyone except Hezbollah."
Geagea also denied that the LF would veto Jihad Azour, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, whose name is circulating as an unofficial presidential candidate. "The LF will only exercise a veto against the candidates of the moumanaa," he clarified, adding that his party would vote in favor of the commander-in-chief of the army Joseph Aoun if he stood a chance of victory. Geagea went on to criticize the FPM's lack of support for Aoun.
Geagea also raised "the great need to appoint a new governor of Banque du Liban," stressing that the government is "in a position to do so," as the end of Riad Salameh’'s mandate approaches in July. "If [former Labor Minister] Camille Abousleiman wants to take this position, I find that he is able to make a change, but I do not ask him," Geagea added.
