Jean-Yves Le Drian, France's special envoy for Lebanon, meets Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Affairs minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut, June 24, 2023. (Credit: @Mofalebanon / Twitter)
BEIRUT — France's special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian ended a three-day visit to Lebanon Saturday, calling on Lebanon's political players to engage in "constructive and inclusive dialogue to overcome the institutional vacuum" and warning that "time is against Lebanon."
"For this first visit, I wanted to listen first. So I met the civil, religious and military authorities, as well as representatives of all the political parties represented in Parliament. I will report on this mission to the President of the republic as soon as I return to France," Le Drian said in a press release.
"I will return to Beirut very soon, as time is against Lebanon. I will work to facilitate a constructive and inclusive dialogue between the Lebanese, in order to reach a solution that is both consensual and effective, to overcome the institutional vacancy and implement the reforms essential to Lebanon's lasting recovery, in consultation with Lebanon's main partner countries," he added.
Political meetings
Le Drian concluded his visit to Lebanon Saturday, meeting Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib with French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo.
Le Drian briefed Bou Habib on his meetings with Lebanese parties, adding that he will continue his contacts soon.
Arriving in Beirut Wednesday afternoon, the former French Foreign Minister said he was in Lebanon on a mission of "consultation and listening," and stressed that "the solution must come first from the Lebanese."
Le Drian also met with MP Abed al-Rahman al-Bizri Friday evening to discuss Lebanon's political situation and "the need to end the political crisis through a constructive national dialogue aimed at reactivating the constitutional and executive process and ending the vacancy by electing a president with vision."
France's special envoy also met Friday evening with MP Ahmed al-Kheir, representing the "National Moderation" bloc, as well as the "Independent Parliamentary Gathering," which, according to the gathering's statement, presented its "position on the presidential elections and current alignments," and affirmed "the bloc's support for internal dialogue as an indispensable necessity."
Earlier Friday, Le Drian met with several political leaders and the ambassadors of five countries involved in efforts to find a way out of Lebanon's crisis, which has been without a head of state since the end of Oct. 2022.
According to a diplomatic source interviewed by AFP, the ambassadors called for a president to be elected without delay.
Since his arrival in Lebanon, Le Drian has held talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai, and various MPs, political leaders and party heads, including Christian leaders Samir Geagea (Lebanese Forces), Gebran Bassil (Free Patriotic Movement) and Sleiman Frangieh (Marada Movement). Frangieh is also an official presidential candidate.
On June 7, Le Drian was tasked with finding a way out of the political impasse in Lebanon, which has been suffering from a presidential power vacuum for over eight months, due to a lack of consensus among political groups on a successor to Michel Aoun. His visit comes a week after Parliament held its 12th unsuccessful session to elect a new president. In the session, neither of the two main candidates — Jihad Azour, supported by the opposition and the FPM, and Sleiman Frangieh, favored by Amal and Hezbollah — obtained an absolute majority of votes.
Since 2020, France has been involved in the search for a solution to the political and economic crises roiling Lebanon, without success, and French President Emmanuel Macron has visited the country twice. According to a French diplomatic source, another trip to Lebanon by Le Drian is planned for the summer.