French envoy's mission: Assessing Lebanon's readiness for consensus

In recent political development, the deadlock continues to dominate the Lebanese political scene as the political parties acknowledge the impossibility of reaching an internal presidential solution. The situation has remained stagnant since the session held on June 14.

However, the arrival of French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian in Beirut on Wednesday is expected to inject some momentum into the political rhythm.

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

Ahead of Le Drian's arrival, Lebanese officials have intensified their contacts with external parties to explore the details of the meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week, specifically regarding Lebanon's role. These contacts have yielded little information, except for the repeated statement that "Le Drian's mission will initially involve listening to the stances of parliamentary blocs and officials he meets and preparing a report accordingly. The real work will begin based on the available information at hand."

According to "Al-Akhbar" newspaper, Le Drian will not promote any initiative, contrary to some expectations linking his visit to the Macron-Bin Salman meeting.

Prominent political sources stated, "Lebanon was briefly mentioned in the statement issued by the Elysée Palace and was a secondary topic in the French-Saudi summit." The two sides briefly discussed Lebanon and agreed to "make every effort to resolve its crisis, emphasizing that it can only be achieved through consensus." There is a French hope that Riyadh will be more prominent in addressing the crisis, and Bin Salman responded positively to this request.

On the day of the meetings to be conducted by the French envoy, which will include ambassadors from the Quincy countries, sources have highlighted the purpose of these meetings, stating that they aim to assess the outcome of discussions and determine whether there is Lebanese readiness for consensus that would allow the activation of the meeting's work to seek a solution in the upcoming weeks.
Additionally, news of the dinner hosted by the Saudi ambassador to Beirut, Walid Bukhari, in honor of Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib at the Phoenicia Hotel has emerged. Many Arab and foreign ambassadors attended the dinner, including Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Amani and the Acting Syrian Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Ali Doghman. The invitation extended by the Saudi ambassador has led to various interpretations linked to the Lebanese file and a shift in the Saudi stance regarding the presidential file.

However, political sources have denied these interpretations, affirming that "the Saudi stance remains positively neutral." They also pointed out that "the invitation of the Iranian ambassador and the Syrian Chargé d'Affaires to the dinner is in line with Saudi Arabia's policy of openness to all, specifically Tehran and Damascus, and is a culmination of the ongoing normalization process with them for months."

Sources considered that the invitation comes within the context of the messages sent by Riyadh to those objecting to its new administration in response to the measures they have taken, such as the European Union canceling its meeting with the League of Arab States for the second time after Syria regained its seat in the organization.

On another note, as the Cabinet session convenes today, ministerial clashes have persisted following the incident that took place last week between Tourism Minister Walid Nassar and Economy Minister Amin Salam.

The Cabinet's agenda included an amendment to the decision related to Lebanon's participation in Expo 2023 in Doha, which angered Nassar. He submitted a letter of objection, prompting the Cabinet General Secretariat to withdraw the item and resend the amended agenda. While there were rumors that Salam was upset by the withdrawal of the item and might not attend today's session, Salam confirmed in a statement that "I am going to the Cabinet to express my gratitude for regaining my authority regarding Expo Qatar, not to apologize to Nassar as he requested."

Moreover, it has been learned that Expatriates Minister Issam Sharafeddine, along with several other ministers, will request during the session to set a date for the official delegation's visit to Syria to discuss the refugee return to their homeland.