Report: France to support presidential candidate agreed-upon by Bassil, al-Rahi

France and Qatar are coordinating with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil over the presidential file and other topics, al-Akhbar newspaper said.

The daily elaborated Friday that France would support a presidential candidate that Bassil and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi would agree upon without announcing his name, within a framework that guarantees an exit from the political and economic crisis.

It said that the coordination between Bassil, France and Qatar also revolves around the International Monetary Fund's role regarding the capital control law and the offshore gas exploration that French company TotalEnergies will launch in Lebanon in January.

Bassil had arrived Wednesday in Paris to discuss with French officials presidential, governmental and economic matters, media reports said.

He had a "positive" meeting in Paris with French presidential envoy Ambassador Pierre Duquesne, al-Akhbar reported.