While the French Presidential Envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, was collecting his papers and packing his bags to return to Paris, concluding a three-day visit to Lebanon, circles closely related to the new French move described the visit as "stalling," rather than floating the "Titanic," according to an earlier description by Le Drian himself of Lebanon’s situation.
Will the mission of the French Presidential Envoy be better off when he returns again next month, as was reported?
This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan.
In parallel, the five-party committee, which includes the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar, returned to move from Beirut in particular, as its ambassadors met on Friday at the Pine Residence for a breakfast table at Le Drian's invitation.
A diplomatic source told "Agence France-Presse" (AFP) that they "agreed on the need to elect without delay a president for Lebanon in preparation for embarking on economic and social reforms within the framework of a program for the advancement [of the country], in return for obtaining the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)."
As for the French envoy, he said his mission is an attempt to "immediately get out of the political deadlock and then consider a program of reforms for Lebanon to restore vitality and hope."
On the other hand, the circles accompanying Le Drian's move were asking: What is the justification for his mission in the first place? Was the Elysee unaware of the Lebanese presidential facts before President Emmanuel Macron assigned Le Drian to travel to Lebanon to investigate the facts?
According to Nidaa al-Watan, these circles raised a question mark about Paris setting its envoy's visit to Lebanon before the June 14 session. However, the French position was keen to hold the presidential elections before the end of June, hinting at imposing sanctions on the obstructors.
Does this mean that the French side intended to jump over the results of June 14?
The same circles told Nidaa al-Watan that the French circles had received a "shock" with the Christians' agreement on Azour's support.
The Shiite duo was also "similarly shocked" due to what this intersection led to in the supremacy of its candidate over the duo’s candidate.
These circles conclude by saying that what resulted from the mission of Macron's envoy was to give a signal that the unilateral French role had emerged from the internal game in Lebanon, and its influence on it diminished.
On the other hand, the focus has become on what will happen outside Lebanon, which means that the 13th session to elect the new president will not occur in the foreseeable future.
As a result of the three days that Le Drian spent in his discussions with Lebanese officials, the following can be concluded:
Le Drian did not mention the name of any candidate, but he asked some of those he met about their preferred candidate, and he did not initiate any name.
If the concerned forces, that is, those supporting Frangieh's candidacy and those opposing him, looked to the full half of the cup of the French movement and used the "reconnaissance" tour in the interest of its battle, then some of those who met Le Drian from outside the lineups came out with the impression that Paris may start thinking differently and work to dig the "mountain of Plan B with a needle," especially since the focus of Le Drian's discussions focused on understanding between the Lebanese as an entry point to addressing the presidential crisis, in exchange for his failure to defend the initiative of Frangieh’s presidency.
Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri had a different assessment, as he said that Le Drian had given Frangieh "a signal to distinguish him from others by inviting him to lunch."
He added that he was ready to participate in any dialogue called to him in the parliament by assigning someone from the Development and Liberation bloc.
When asked if Le Drian discussed the possibility of the third option, he replied: "I told him that dialogue determines the names, and the reasons for Hezbollah and Frangieh's adherence, the most important of which is that he is honest and frank and adheres to his words."
He said, "We feel that America prefers the army commander, while Saudi Arabia is still positioned not to put a 'veto' on any name."
In turn, "Al-Manar“ TV channel, affiliated with Hezbollah, said that Le Drian "admitted to some of those he met that Azour's chances are zero!"
The third and final day was marked by an intensive program of meetings at the Pine Residence, which included the former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, his son, the head of the Democratic Gathering, MP Taymour Jumblatt, the head of the Kataeb Party, Samy Gemayel, and the visit of the Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, at his headquarters in Yarzeh, in addition to meetings with blocs and representatives from all sides.