
The French envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, in Haret Hreik, on May 29, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Azakir/Reuters)
France's special envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves le Drian, said he held diplomatic talks at the Vatican on Friday, during which he discussed the Lebanese crisis, including the country's almost two-year-long presidential vacuum.
"I was at the Vatican yesterday [Friday] as the personal envoy of the president of the French Republic to discuss Lebanon with Cardinal Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, and with Archbishop Gallagher, head of Vatican diplomacy," Le Drian wrote on X.
At the end of May, the French envoy met Lebanon's main political players in an attempt to relaunch the country's presidential election, which remains deadlocked due to the lack of political consensus on a candidate to succeed Michel Aoun, whose term in office ended on Oct. 31, 2022.
During his visit to Lebanon, Le Drian, according to a source quoted by AFP, wanted to try to "break out of the vicious circle" in which the country finds itself and encourage "internal consultations between the different parties that would lead to an agreement in anticipation of the election of a president."
The purpose of Le Drian's visit was to "inaugurate a new phase in the presidential process," focusing primarily on the profile and program of the future head of state, a Western diplomat said at the time.
On May 16, the five countries involved in the search for a solution in Lebanon, including France, called for "consultations … between the political blocs" to "put an end to the current political impasse."
"These consultations should be aimed solely at identifying a candidate on whom there is broad agreement, or a shortlist of candidates for the presidency," according to a statement from the quintet, which also includes the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.
This article was originally published in French on L'Orient-Le Jour.