A French development agency that implemented programs since 1999 in Lebanon to fight poverty and promote sustainable development, has reportedly ceased all its activities in Lebanon amid the country’s “inability to pay its debt,” Nidaa al-Watan reported on Wednesday.

A French source said in remarks to the daily, that Agence Française De Développement, a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government, “can no longer provide loans to Lebanon which has defaulted on its debt.”

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions on Lebanon, in which it notes with increasing concern the grave financial, economic, social and political crisis that has taken root in the country and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 4 August explosion at Beirut port.

A high-level French mediation is seeking pacification between President Michel Aoun and PM-designate Saad Hariri, al-Jadeed TV reported on Tuesday.

The Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc on Tuesday stressed that the president of the republic has an essential role in the cabinet formation process.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced Tuesday that his government intends to end the subsidization of some goods without burdening citizens with additional financial and economic woes.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab clarified Tuesday that the government has no plans to lift subsidies from the import of essential goods, but rather more to rationalize their financing.

Israeli military planes conducted mock raids on Tuesday flying at very low altitudes over some Lebanese regions, the National News Agency reported.

Over Nabatieh and Iqlim el-Touffah, Israeli warplanes flew at a very low altitude triggering panic, said NNA.

A new government in Lebanon will likely be formed before December 21, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The government formation “gap” between President Michel Aoun and PM-designate Saad Hariri has not been eliminated during their meeting on Monday, which came as a move to “please” French President Emmanuel Macron before scheduled his visit to Beirut, Ad Diyar daily reported Tuesday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Monday chaired a ministerial meeting dedicated to discussing the issue of the subsidization of imported essential goods amid the severe financial and economic crisis in the country.