French President Emmanuel Macron's envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian met Thursday with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.

Le Drian had arrived Wednesday in Beirut to end a political impasse that has left the country without a president for more than seven months.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized Wednesday a cabinet session that he said discussed items that a caretaker government should not be tackling.

Geagea dubbed the session as "unconstitutional" although it discussed some urgent matters, but also contained other items "far from being urgent."

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has told the French that the presidential vote in Lebanon is a “sovereign Lebanese affair,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Wednesday.

“The page has been turned on the candidate of (the Axis of) Defiance, Suleiman Franjieh, in light of the results of the June 14 electoral session,” the daily added.

French President Emmanuel Macron's envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Beirut on Wednesday to end a political impasse that has left the country without a president for more than seven months.

Le Drian is a political heavyweight who served as foreign minister throughout Macron's first mandate and previously as defense minister.

Independent MP Neemat Frem said overnight that he has been told by the Shiite Duo (Hezbollah and Amal Movement) that there is “no veto” on his possible presidential nomination.

“But they told me that until now their candidate is Suleiman Franjieh,” Frem added, in an interview with al-Jadeed TV.

Families in Lebanon are barely able to meet their most basic needs despite cutting down drastically on expenses according to a new survey by UNICEF. A growing number of families are having to resort to sending their children – some as young as six years old - to work in a desperate effort to survive the socio-economic crisis engulfing the country.

The results of the survey paint a dramatic picture of the situation as the crisis continues to escalate for a fourth consecutive year, with devastating consequences for children.

Cabinet called off on Wednesday the intermediate official exams (Brevet) for this year, approved the pending promotion of security and military officers, and renewed the UNIFIL's mandate for another year, in a session boycotted by the Free Patriotic Movement.

Cabinet also passed a decree that would turn civil defense volunteers into full-timers after years of service.

The world's poorest countries are bearing the brunt of the world's debt crisis, at a time when they need more cash than ever to fight climate change.

As top officials gather in Paris for the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, AFP takes a look at the problem.

Hamadeh says Democratic Gathering open to ‘other candidates’

MP Marwan Hamadeh of the Democratic Gathering on Tuesday said he does not expect French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian to carry any solution “formula” during his visit to Lebanon.

The current foreign drive will certainly give an impetus to Lebanon’s presidential file, but “solutions have not ripened yet,” sources informed on the contacts said.

“There is no Iranian-Saudi decision to directly interfere” in the file, the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Tuesday.