Lebanon – Visit by Jean-Yves Le Drian, the President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon (12 september 2023)

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon, is visiting Lebanon for the third time, until September 15, as part of his good offices mission, which was launched in July in coordination with the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.

Building on the relationships fostered during his initial missions, he will meet again with all of the politicians represented in Parliament, who were elected by the Lebanese people and are responsible for electing the Lebanese president.

Given the urgent need to resolve the current political deadlock, he will talk with all the politicians about the projects that the next Lebanese president should prioritize in order to allow a mutually agreed upon solution to emerge in Parliament so as to resolve the institutional power vacuum.

As President Macron and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs reaffirmed during the Ambassadors’ Conference, France is determined to work toward ensuring the sovereignty and stability of Lebanon, “a country in its own right that France will not abandon.” “Today, there is an urgent need to elect a president, the first step toward restoring political institutions.”

The situation continues to deteriorate; the weakening of state institutions is troubling given that in addition, Lebanon’s central bank no longer has a governor now, there are security tensions, the parliament no longer meets to vote on the laws that are key to the country’s recovery and the prosperity of the Lebanese people, there is hyperinflation and a cash economy, which is undermining the country’s sovereignty, and the country continues to be drained of its lifeblood.