As touristic festivals kicked off with the opening of the Baalbeck International Festival, followed by the Beiteddine Art Festival and the initiation of artistic performances across Lebanon, the country entered a long summer break, expected to extend into the second half of the month.
Amidst this period, French Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian will return to Lebanon to continue his communications with political forces, refraining from revealing any specific details or scheduled meetings.
This article was originally published in, translated from online newspaper Al Anbaa.
While the content of Le Drian's conversation with former minister Jihad Azour was not disclosed, sources familiar with the French envoy's movements told Al Anbaa that he would focus on two main points.
Firstly, the extent to which presidential candidates Sleiman Frangieh and Jihad Azour can garner the support of a significant number of MPs based on their respective plans to rescue Lebanon from the ongoing crisis without necessarily relying on the approval of their supporting blocs.
Secondly, the search for a consensus candidate who can serve as an exit strategy from the crisis without granting any single political force, including Hezbollah, a sense of victory.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, MP Taymour Jumblatt, reaffirmed the party's commitment to a dialogue with all political parties in search of national solutions.
He stressed their role as mediators between the nation's factions, advocating for citizens' issues and expressing their aspirations for Lebanon as a state of citizenship and social justice.
In the governmental realm, official sources indicated, according to Al Anbaa, that Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who returned to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia after performing the Hajj pilgrimage, will intensify his contacts with political forces starting from next week, notably with the Shiite duo to secure broader political support for the caretaker government.
This is to convene an exceptional session to pass several financial and military appointments, especially concerning the governorship of Banque du Liban after the end of Governor Riad Salameh's term and the transition of authority to his deputy, Wassim Mansouri, as well as other vacant military positions.
However, this move faces widespread opposition from political forces, with the Free Patriotic Movement and its leader, MP Gebran Bassil, considering Cabinet sessions illegitimate without a presidential mandate.
All these developments indicate that Lebanon is unlikely to emerge from its consecutive political crises soon, leaving its economy, security, and stability shackled by political machinations from most political forces.