France advises Christian' trio' to reach an agreement to name a presidential candidate: report

Unlike the rest of the ambassadors of the Paris five-party meeting, a notable activity was recorded for the French Ambassador to Beirut, Anne Grillo, who held, in the past days, a series of announced and unannounced meetings with several leaders.  

Before she visited Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday, Grillo toured Christian leaders opposing the election of the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Frangieh, in an attempt to contain the storm of criticism directed by these leaders against French policy in Lebanon, against the background of the French barter project that carries Frangieh to the presidential palace and Nawaf Salam to the Grand Serail.  

This article was originally published in, translated from the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.  

It is noteworthy that what was reported about Grillo, in her meetings with the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, and the head of the Kataeb Party, Samy Gemayel, suggested the existence of a new French approach.  

However, the parties supporting Frangieh's candidacy did not hear from Grillo or Paris any amendment to what was reported to Frangieh during his visit to the French capital, which according to the information, included a promise from President Emmanuel Macron to continue his efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to settle the barter.  

Al-Akhbar learned that Grillo confirmed in her meetings with Christian leaders that Frangieh's candidacy is one of the options offered by France to get out of the crisis and that naming him comes in the context of understanding the Lebanese reality and its balances in terms of the inability to impose a president that the other side does not accept.   

However, she emphasized that her country "advises the Christian trio to reach an agreement on the name of a presidential candidate that would not be repulsive and provocative to Hezbollah, which might prompt the latter to abandon support for Frangieh's candidacy."