French envoy in Lebanon to seek way out of political deadlock

French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived on Tuesday in Beirut on his second mission aimed at resolving crisis-hit Lebanon's protracted political deadlock, a Lebanese statement said.

Mired in a gruelling economic crisis since 2019, Lebanon has been governed by a caretaker cabinet for more than a year and without a president for nearly nine months.

Le Drian met with Lebanon's powerful parliament speaker Nabih Berri, the Lebanese leader's office said in a statement.

The French envoy is set to hold discussions with other political leaders during his three-day visit.

Le Drian "is coming to present the results of the Doha meeting and his talks in Saudi Arabia", a French diplomatic source told AFP, referring to recent moves meant to encourage Lebanon to fill the vacant presidency.

"He will try to reconcile points of view and create favourable conditions for a consensual solution to emerge," the source added.

Lebanese lawmakers failed 12 times to elect a new president as bitter disputes between the powerful Iran-backed Shia movement Hezbollah and its opponents have plunged Lebanon into a power vacuum.

On 17 July, representatives of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United States, France and Qatar gathered in Doha to discuss Lebanon, urging parliament to choose a president and politicians to "take immediate steps to break the impasse".

Le Drian came to Lebanon last month for the first time as France's envoy, meeting key figures on a "consultative" mission to push for a solution to the deadlock.

Multiple attempts spearheaded by Lebanon's former colonial ruler France to extricate the country from its woes have ended in failure.