France to Host International Meeting on Crisis-hit Lebanon

The foreign ministry said that France will play host to an international conference on Monday to discuss ways to break the country's protracted political impasse.

Representatives from France, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt will attend the meeting in Paris, according to Anne-Claire Legendre, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry.

Since parliamentarians have consistently failed to choose a replacement for Michel Aoun, whose term as president ended at the end of October, Lebanon is currently governed by a caretaker administration and does not have a president.

Amid the worst financial crisis it has ever experienced, efforts to rescue the Mediterranean nation have been stymied by the political standoff.

According to Legendre, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna "has conveyed her extremely severe worry on Lebanon's political impasse." On Thursday, Colonna was in Saudi Arabia.

In order to "push the Lebanese political elite to embrace its duties and promote a way out of the crisis," Legendre continued, France and regional allies including Saudi Arabia have been debating strategies.

"To continue working with our allies and find methods to go forward, this strategy will be the topic of a follow-up meeting with the French, US, Saudi, Qatari, and Egyptian administrations on Monday."

If any Lebanese representatives had been invited was not immediately apparent.

According to Legendre, there are currently no plans for any ministerial-level meetings.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, urged Lebanon to "change its leadership" in December after months of impasse prevented changes necessary to unleash billions of euros in foreign funding.