The head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, met the French ambassador to Lebanon, Hervé Magro, on Wednesday, with whom he discussed "numerous ongoing issues," including that of the Syrian refugees, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

The FPM leader and the French ambassador addressed "many ongoing issues with the Syrian displaced persons in Lebanon at the forefront, along with the repercussions related to their increasing numbers," stated an FPM statement. Bassil "stressed the need to work seriously for their return home, especially since the dangers that threatened them no longer exist." Lebanon hosts, according to official estimates, 1.5 million Syrian refugees, including 755,426 registered with the U.N., who fled the civil war in their country since 2011.

The discussions also focused on laws presented to Parliament to implement reforms, including the banking secrecy law. Bassil ssaid that his parliamentary bloc submitted several law proposals aimed at promoting reforms before the onset of the crisis in Lebanon, the FPM statement stated.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri decided to convene Parliament for a plenary session on Thursday at 11 a.m., to discuss several draft and proposed laws, including the banking secrecy law, which was approved by the joint committees at their last session. On Wednesday, April 16, lawmakers adopted the draft law amending banking secrecy in joint committees, with a few minor changes. This is a law eagerly awaited by the International Monetary Fund, to whom Lebanon recently renewed its request to subscribe to a financial assistance program conditioned by the implementation of reforms.