French FM Le Drian Visits Lebanon with Message of ‘Great Firmness’

Lebanese President Michel Aoun met Thursday with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his accompanying delegation at the Baabda Palace.

The meeting lasted about half an hour, with the French diplomat walking out without making any statement, heading to Ain el-Tineh Palace to meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Le Drian visited Lebanon with a message of “great firmness” to its political leaders, threatening to take additional measures against officials obstructing the formation of a government in the crisis-hit country.

Tweeting ahead of his arrival, the FM asserted that French travel restrictions on Lebanese officials suspected of corruption or hindering the formation of a new government were “just the start.”

“I will be in Lebanon tomorrow with a message of great firmness to political leaders and a message of our complete solidarity to the Lebanese,” he posted on Twitter. “Firmness in the face of those hindering the formation of a government: we have taken national action, and this is just the start.”

On his part, Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has previously claimed that there are external problems related to Gebran Bassil and his allies that delay forming a new government.

Hariri stressed that the situations are extremely difficult and the country is in urgent need of a new government to stop this economic collapse. However, there are certain people who want to prevent any significant reforms.

Meantime, Lebanon is experiencing the worst economic and financial crisis of its modern history.