The Maronite Patriarch Bshara Rai will visit Paris on Saturday to meet with French officials; it will be the Patriarch’s first official visit to France after since his election.
According to An-Nahar newspaper, Rai will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at Elysee Palace in Paris, as well as other high French officials, to discuss the current local and regional issues and the role of Christians in the Middle East
The Patriarch will also meet French PM Francois Fillon and will be hosted by Lebanon’s Ambassador to France Boutros Asaker for dinner with PM Fillon and Head of the Senate Gerard Larcher
Rai will also meet with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, French Minister of Interior Claude Guillan, President of the National Assembly of France Bernard Accoyer and the Bishop of Paris Bishop of Paris, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois