French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday wished “every success” to the new Lebanese president, General Joseph Aoun, with whom he “agreed” to “visit Lebanon very soon,” the Elysée announced in a statement.
France “will continue to be at the side of Lebanon and its people,” he stressed during a telephone interview, recalling that it had already “mobilized strongly” for more than two years to remove Lebanon from the “institutional vacuum.”
The commander-in-chief of the Lebanese army was elected president by Parliament after a vacancy of more than two years at the head of the State that aggravated the economic and political crisis in which the country is mired.
“The Head of State indicated to President Aoun that France would support his efforts to quickly complete the constitution of a government capable of uniting the Lebanese, responding to their aspirations and needs and carrying out the reforms necessary for economic recovery, reconstruction, stability, security and sovereignty of Lebanon,” said the French presidency.
“He will support the national dialogue that President Aoun will carry out to this end and will ask all Lebanese leaders to contribute to the success of his mission, for the benefit of all Lebanese men and women,” the Elysée stressed.
France “committed” to the implementation of the ceasefire
France is also “resolutely committed”, along with the Lebanese, to the “proper implementation of the ceasefire signed between Lebanon and Israel on November 26, 2024”, under the auspices of US President Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron.
A monitoring mechanism bringing together France, the United States, Lebanon, Israel and the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was created to monitor its implementation and violations. France will continue “to provide its support to the Lebanese Armed Forces both at the national level and within the framework of UNIFIL,” said Emmanuel Macron.
The French president is personally involved in this issue, multiplying urgent calls for the Lebanese political class to overcome its divisions. He visited Lebanon twice after the August 2020 explosion in the port of Beirut, which devastated the capital and left more than 150 dead and thousands injured, to try to help the country emerge from the political and economic crisis in which is trapped. .
Source: BFM TV
