Lebanon's presidential elections: French envoy's upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, presenting "Plan B" with Iran

The preparations for the presidential elections continue to unfold.

"Nidaa Al-Watan" has learned from well-informed sources about French movements that have taken place internally as part of the ongoing discussions initiated by French Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Le Drian is preparing to visit Riyadh on July 11, marking the beginning of a tour involving the parties of the Quincy Committee for Lebanon.

This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Nidaa Al-Watan.

Concurrently, Le Drian's external movements will be accompanied by indirect communication with Iran, alongside direct contacts between Qatar and Tehran, in preparation for what the sources described as "Plan B" for the elections.

It is known that Le Drian has informed concerned parties that France has moved away from the Frangieh option and is currently exploring the readiness of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun to assume the position of a consensus president. It should be noted that during his recent visit to Beirut, Le Drian had a private meeting that addressed matters related to the army and the presidency.

The sources added, "following the departure of the French envoy from Beirut in June, the French Embassy in Beirut continued the contacts initiated by Le Drian by surveying the stances of internal parties regarding dialogue if it were to take place and their vision for it."

At the same time, the embassy affirmed that its previous vision for accomplishing the presidential process still adheres to the formula of a prior agreement on a presidential candidate, the appointment of the next prime minister, and the ministerial statement of the new government.

Embassy officials clarified that Frangieh's nomination is no longer part of their vision, initially including Ambassador Nawaf Salam as the prime minister.

The sources summarized the responses received from political parties. Hezbollah expressed its agreement on dialogue within the framework of the system, meaning they are not demanding a constitutional amendment but still insist on Frangieh's nomination for the presidency.

As for the Lebanese Forces party, it affirmed the separation of the presidential elections from dialogue and its commitment to implementing the constitution.

Overall, it appeared that there are difficulties in convening dialogue amidst such divergence in stances.

The sources concluded, "there is currently no schedule for dialogue. However, Le Drian will raise the dialogue issue in his second tour, knowing that the Amal-Hezbollah duo is attempting to secure a strong gain by leading the Lebanese people into a dialogue without an agenda."