French President Francois Hollande arrived on Sunday at the Dalhamia Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa to meet with the displaced
Hollande stressed that a political solution to the Syrian crisis is being sought, thus allowing refugees to go back to their hometown.
Earlier during the day, Hollande met with Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Rai among other Lebanese religious leaders at the Residence des pins, the French ambassador’s official residence.
The French president arrived in Beirut on Saturday on a two-day official visit.
He said that France would provide immediate additional military aid to Lebanon, and urged politicians to end a long-running crisis by electing a president as soon as possible.
Hollande also said he had decided to step up assistance for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, giving 50 million euros this year and 100 million euros over the next three years to cope with the crisis. Lebanon hosts more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, a quarter of its population.
Hollande's Beirut visit, the first stop on a Middle East tour, came weeks after Saudi Arabia cut $3 billion of military aid to Lebanon, where violence has repeatedly spilled over from the Syrian war since it began in 2011.