Refugee Crisis on Table in Aoun's State Visit to France

President Michel Aoun began Monday his first state visit to France and the thorny issue of Syrian refugees is expected to top the agenda of his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported that Aoun will be accompanied by First Lady Nadia Aoun, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, State Minister for Presidency Affairs Pierre Raffoul, Lebanese Ambassador to France Rami Adwan, Foreign Ministry political affairs director Ghadi al-Khoury, in addition to an administrative and media delegation.

Apart from his meeting with Macron, the president will also hold talks with France's Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, President of the Senate Gérard Larcher, National Assembly Speaker François de Rugy, and representatives of the Lebanese expat community.

Al-Joumhouria said talks will tackle “means to strengthen political, diplomatic, security, economic and cultural ties; the situations of French and Francophone institutions operating in Lebanon; the situations of Lebanese expats in Paris; the role of French UNIFIL peacekeepers; and supporting Lebanon in the issue of returning Syrian refugees to their country.”

According to information obtained by the daily, the French president will express a “positive stance on the refugee issue, contrary to the stance of U.S. President Donald Trump.”