“
France has no candidate in Lebanon
,” the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman assured Thursday, as Lebanese media recently mentioned possible Paris support for former minister Sleiman Frangié for the post of president. .
"
It is appropriate for the Lebanese to elect their leaders
," declared Anne-Claire Legendre during a press briefing, recalling the message from Paris in recent months.
A political and economic crisis
Lebanon has been in a power vacuum since President Michel Aoun's term expired on October 31 without an agreement among the deeply divided political class on a successor.
This political crisis has aggravated the country's economic slump.
"
It is up to the Lebanese actors to take their responsibilities and break the political deadlock to quickly elect a new president
", underlined the spokeswoman for the Quai d'Orsay, adding that the vacancy for more than six months "
weighs on the Lebanese people first and foremost
".
A dizzying rise in prices
Lebanon is experiencing one of the worst economic crises in the world since 1850, estimates the World Bank, marked by a vertiginous rise in prices, a historic plummeting of the national currency, an unprecedented impoverishment of the population and serious shortages.
"
It's about electing a new president, forming a full-fledged government that will be able to carry out the reforms that Lebanon and the Lebanese people urgently need in the face of the serious crisis they are going through,"
also declared Anne-Claire Legendre.
Le Quai also indicated that France had "
very many exchanges with Lebanese political actors
".
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands the implementation of the necessary reforms to release much-needed aid to the country.
