French President Emmanuel Macron discussed with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Aoun the efforts to form a new government, which is facing a dilemma due to the dispute over ministerial portfolios, amid mutual accusations between political forces.

The media office of the Lebanese Presidency said that Aoun received a phone call from Macron on Friday, discussing the government situation, and stressing the need to continue efforts to secure the birth of the government as soon as possible.

The call between the two presidents comes a day after Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib agreed to give more time for consultations aimed at forming a new government. France and the United States stress that it be a problem of specialists, and its priority is to implement urgent reforms that lift Lebanon from its suffocating crisis that was exacerbated by the devastating explosion. In the port of Beirut on the 4th of last month.

Two days ago, the two-week deadline granted by the French president's initiative to Lebanese politicians to form the new government that would replace the caretaker government led by Hassan Diab, which resigned under street pressure following the port explosion.

The consultations were complicated by Hezbollah’s adherence to the financial portfolio and the nomination of representatives of the Shiite duo (Hezbollah and Amal Movement) in the government, while other political forces, including the Future Movement and the Lebanese Forces Party, wanted to rotate the ministerial portfolios.

Yesterday, the Lebanese Hezbollah confirmed the importance of the French initiative to form a government, and held the US administration responsible for disrupting its formation.

Meanwhile, the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, said in a press conference today that the request by the Amal Movement and Hezbollah to the Ministry of Finance leads to striking the French initiative to the core, and pushes other parties not to accept the idea of ​​rotating the bags, thus disrupting the initiative.

A dilemma for everyone.


The director of the Al-Jazeera office in Beirut, Mazen Ibrahim, said that the French initiative entered into the Lebanese political and sectarian quotas auction and the terms and conditions against it.

He referred to the conflicting positions in this regard for the Shiite duo on the one hand, and for the Future Movement and the Lebanese Forces on the other hand.

He also referred to a remarkable position attributed to sources close to President Michel Aoun, in which he refused the political parties' failure to accept the principle of rotating ministerial portfolios, explaining that it was understood from this position that it was a message to Hezbollah who is attached to the Finance Ministry and to naming representatives of the Shiite component of the government.

The director of the Al-Jazeera office in Beirut stated that there was a French attempt to save what could be salvaged from Macron's initiative, which is focused on forming the government, referring in this context to the contact that Macron made with Aoun, and to talk about other contacts he will make with the political class in Lebanon.

Mazen Ibrahim said that the French had wished the Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adeeb not to apologize for the assignment.

He added that Adeeb, who has the support of France and 4 former Lebanese ministers (Saad Hariri, Tamam Salam, Najib Mikati and Fouad Siniora), is facing difficult choices in light of the current differences between the political forces involved in forming the government.

Among the options he mentioned is to abstain from assigning or form a government independent of compatibility with the Shiite bilateral.

He explained that all the Lebanese parties interfering in the process of forming the government are facing an impasse in light of difficult internal and regional balances.

Earlier reports had stated that the Lebanese Prime Minister-designate may give up the task of forming a government if matters reach a dead end.