Le Drian in Beirut to Up Pressure on Lebanon Leaders

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian held high-level meetings in Beirut on Thursday aimed at ratcheting up the pressure on Lebanon's leaders to break its political paralysis.

He also met opposition parties, suggesting increased interest in alternatives to a ruling class that has failed to form a government for nine months despite the country's economic stagnation.

"Firmness against those who are blocking the formation of a government: We have taken national measures and it's only the beginning," Le Drian said late Wednesday.

France announced last week that it has begun restricting access to French territory for Lebanese figures it did not name.

Le Drian said at the time that further measures may be coordinated with other countries.

He met President Michel Aoun and parliament speaker Nabih Berri but did not hold any joint press conferences and ostensibly did not meet some of Lebanon's other political heavyweights.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon twice last year in the aftermath of a deadly explosion at Beirut port that shocked the world and was widely blamed on government corruption and incompetence.

He warned that international support for the country, whose economy is in a tailspin, would hinge on far-reaching reform.

Yet Lebanon's reviled political elite has failed to meet Macron's requests and has still not agreed on a new cabinet line-up, following the government's resignation last August.

- 'Political alternatives' -

Le Drian visited several health, education and heritage projets supported by France but he also met a group of opposition members.

"Representatives of the parties opposed to the current political class spoke as one," said Naji Abou Khalil, a member of the National Bloc's executive committee.

He said the main demands put forward by the opposition were for the formation of an independent government of experts to handle the crisis and for elections to be organised in the spring of 2022.

The parties represented at Thursday's meeting have strived to overcome their differences and present a united front to mount a serious challenge to Lebanon's hereditary political barons.

Abou Khalil argued that the meeting was a sign the international community was taking them more seriously as a political alternative and not just representatives of civil society.

"A year and a half ago, the international community was still reluctant to demand the removal of the ruling class lest it create instability," he told AFP.

"Now it is starting to understand that the continued presence of this political class is where the danger comes from for Lebanon, not from its removal," he said.

"For the opposition, this visit opens a door towards more international legitimacy."