Rai pursues visit to Paris, meets with Hollande

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rai crowned his visit to France by meeting with the French President Francois Hollande at the Elysée Palace.
          
Earlier on Tuesday, Cardinal Rai headed a holy mass at the Church of Our Lady.                                                      

Cardinal Rai left Beirut on Monday and headed for Paris, where he met with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius upon his arrival.                      
                      
In this context, Cardinal Rai discussed with Fabius the latest developments in Lebanon along with some regional affairs highlighting the key role that Lebanon played in maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East.                     

Patriarch Rai thanked France for its continuous aid and support to Lebanon, lauding the work of the French contingent within the UNIFIL.                               

For his part, the French Foreign Minister Fabius congratulated Patriarch Rai for his successful role in implementing dialogue between various religions and fortifying the role of Christians in the Middle East.        

On another note, Fabius discussed with Rai the impact of the impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon, especially the continuous influx of refugees to the Lebanese territories.             

In this regard, Rai asked France along with the International Community to support Lebanon in the file of the displaced Syrian in Lebanon.              

The head of the Maronite Church, Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rai also met on Monday with the Former Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares who highly praised the stance of Cardinal Rai who called for adopting a fair electoral law that ensures just representation.         

Following his Parisian trip, Rai is set to kick off a pastoral tour in Latin America, which will last until the end of May and which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Colombia and Venezuela.