French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner

He arrived in Beirut on November 12 and met with Patriarch Sfeir and the main Lebanese political leaders on November 13.

Following the postponement of the Lebanese parliamentary session of November 21, this new visit by the minister is part of France’s ongoing engagement to further an understanding among the parties for the election of a president with broad support.

The minister’s previous visits and that by the Elysée secretary-general are evidence of this engagement and the efforts we’ve been pursuing for several months to foster the search for a solution to the current deadlock in Lebanon. We expect Syria to contribute to such a result by not blocking the achievement of an inter-Lebanese agreement in any way.

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files_156/lebanon_294/visits_3267/visit-of-mr-bernard-kouchner-to-lebanon-12-13.11.07_10216.html

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For more information about this visit

Read the Ministry Spokeperson’s answers to questions from the daily press briefing (November 13, 2007)

Daily Press Briefing
Statements made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson
(excerpts)

(Paris, November 14, 2007)

[Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.]

LEBANON

Q - Mr. Kouchner mentioned two dates for his return to Lebanon, Monday the 19th and Wednesday the 21st. Could you give us the date and tell us if he’s going with the two other European ministers?

The minister said he would return to Lebanon next week, but it’s not possible yet to state the exact day for the trip.

Q - The minister has said he’s committed to democracy in Lebanon, and the process he’s proposed is based on selection, so what is this democracy he wants? Is it consistent with real democracy?

The minister’s approach aims to draw the various parties together so as to bring about the election of a president who has broad support, in accordance with the rules of democracy in Lebanon.

Q - Now that Bernard Kouchner has returned to Paris and the list of candidates for the Lebanese presidential election is in Patriarch Sfeir’s hands, what’s the next step in the process French diplomats have started to get an election on time?

The minister answered this question in detail at his press briefing in Beirut yesterday. As he said, he will return to Lebanon next week to pursue his contacts while our embassy for its part will continue to follow the development of the situation with the utmost attention.

Embassy of France in the United States, November 14, 2007