Macron to Celebrate Christmas With French Peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon, Source Says

BEIRUT (Sputnik) - French President Emmanuel Macron will celebrate Christmas in south Lebanon together with French peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a Lebanese source familiar with the matter told Sputnik.

"Macron will celebrate Christmas with French military personnel of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon," the source said.

The French president will arrive in Lebanon's capital city, Beirut, on December 24 and is scheduled to hold meetings with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati, according to the French Embassy in Beirut. Then, Macron will head to the south of the country to join the UNIFIL.

The source emphasized that Macron’s visit to Lebanon is "symbolic and beyond any political agenda." However, the French president will touch upon the Lebanon issue at the upcoming Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership that will take place in Jordan on December 20.

A UN peacekeeper of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stands at a lookout point in Adaisseh village near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon December 21, 2015.

© AFP 2023 / Karamallah Daher

Macron intends to advocate for "the prompt election of Lebanon’s president and the formation of a government that will commit itself to carrying out the necessary reforms and providing humanitarian assistance to the population," according to the source.

The Lebanese parliament has been trying to elect a new president since late September, as none of the candidates succeeded in securing the required minimum of votes so far. On October 31, the six-year presidential term of former Lebanese leader Michel Aoun ended. Since then, presidential functions in Lebanon have been partly undertaken by a transitional cabinet.