The French presidential envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, arrived today (Tuesday) in Lebanon on a second tour of Lebanese officials. He started with a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri without making any statement, then went to the Pine Palace and met with Representative Timur Jumblatt and the head of the Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel, to meet tomorrow (Wednesday), the head of the caretaker government Najib Mikati, the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, and the Maronite patriarch, Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rai.
Le Drian, who does not carry any formula or proposition for the worsening presidential crisis, will work in the next few hours to bridge the views between the two rival teams, the team led by the Shiite duo who clings to the last breath of its candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, and the team opposing the duo and its candidate, which now includes Gebran Bassil, provided that the tug of war remains the same, unless the position of one of the parties changes. Attention was drawn to the Aounist movement after Hezbollah Central Council member Nabil Qaouk confirmed that the dialogue between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement is serious and a real glimmer of hope amid crises and political deadlock. The same applies to the Socialist Party. If one of them is convinced of the Shiite duo’s vision, the scales may turn upside down.
Returning to Le Drian’s second visit, which was scheduled for several days with the aim of launching the dialogue process, and it was shortened to two days, and the issue of dialogue imposed by all Christian parties will be absent from its schedule. The failure of the visit of the French presidential envoy as expected for it is due – according to observers – to several reasons, foremost among which is the statement of the five-year special committee meeting for Lebanon that was issued in Doha during the past days, and did not mention the French initiative, which means its fall in practice and thus the restriction of the French role, in addition to the sudden position of “Hezbollah”, which turned into a critic of the initiative or to visit.
The party confirmed on more than one occasion that the visit will not carry anything new. This shift is due to the party’s conviction that the French have failed to create a fertile ground for dialogue between the Lebanese, and that there is a great restriction on the French role by the five-member committee.
As for the most prominent reason that dominates the French visitor’s tour, it is the issue of the governance of the Banque du Liban, which has emerged as a priority with the approaching date of Governor Riad Salameh’s departure without alternative options. Despite the appointment of next Thursday’s session to appoint a new governor for the Central Bank, the concern began to increase, and it may reach its climax before Thursday on the financial and economic situation and social security.
