Lebanese Forces (LF) MP Pierre Bou Assi said on Thursday, June 29, that “we must await the results of French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian’s visit to Beirut before drawing any conclusions about the effectiveness of his mission.”
In an interview with Huna Loubnan, he explained that the “Lebanese dossier was handed over to Le Drian after the failure of the approach initially adopted by the diplomatic cell at the French presidency.”
Bou Assi found several flaws in this approach. Firstly, it involved endorsing the candidacy of Marada Leader Sleiman Frangieh, despite not having the majority of parliamentary votes. Secondly, Frangieh is imposed by Hezbollah, who hinders the election process as long as the coming to power of its candidate is not guaranteed. The third flaw is that this approach had been put forward in 2016 by France and had not been successful. The fourth is that the proposal is based on the Doha agreement, which has never been respected by Hezbollah.
The LF MP continued, “These flaws reflect a structural failure in the previous French approach. This is why Le Drian, a seasoned diplomat and politician, is now commencing anew to explore avenues for a breakthrough and create a common space between the parties.”
Bou Assi also considered that “Le Drian’s mission is complicated, especially considering that the French do not claim to be able to place pressure on political leaders.”
“We thank France for its interest in Lebanon, but we know that at the international level, Lebanon is no longer a priority. The proof is that the investigation of the explosion at the port of Beirut is no longer taken seriously,” he went on to say.
In this context, he specified that “if France called for a conference, the LF would abstain from participating due to the lack of trust in international guarantees.”
According to Bou Assi, what is required is “an internal solution within the constitutional and legal framework provided that Hezbollah has good intentions. Otherwise, going to Doha, Paris or anywhere else would be futile.”
