Paris renews bid to break Lebanese presidential poll impasse

BEIRUT - France renewed its efforts on Friday to bring Lebanon's feuding leaders to agree on the election of a new president and avoid a power vacuum that could plunge the country into further political turmoil.

French envoy Claude Gueant, the president's chief of staff, came to talk with government and opposition leaders about the election of a new president to succeed pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud who steps down on Nov. 24.

"France has distinctive relations with Lebanon and President Nicolas Sarkozy has strong relations with the Lebanese people. Therefore, he cannot watch seeing Lebanon plagued by crises," Gueant said at the airport.

"Hence, he attaches great importance to the presidential election in Lebanon being held on time and according to constitutional rules and respect of Lebanon's sovereignty and independence far from any foreign interference," he added.

Gueant said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who visited Lebanon with the Italian and Spanish foreign ministers last month, will be in Beirut early next week to continue French efforts on the presidential election.

Gueant's visit comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity by foreign officials in Lebanon, reflecting mounting concerns that failure to elect a president could lead to a power vacuum, or possibly the creation of rival governments.

The visit also came a few days after Gueant and Jean-David Levitte, Sarkozy's chief international adviser, held talks in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad whose country has been accused by the United States and Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentary majority of blocking the presidential election.

Damascus has denied the allegation.

Syria is considered a major player in Lebanon despite the withdrawal of its army from the country in 2005 in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Damascus backs the Lebanese opposition, led by the militant Hezbollah group, which is locked in a fierce power struggle with the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

Sarkozy had discussed the Lebanese presidential election Wednesday in a Washington summit with U.S. President George W. Bush, who said he was comfortable with France's effort to break the political deadlock through direct talks with Syria.

Lebanon is mired in its worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. Parliament was to make another attempt to elect a president on Nov. 12, but as with previous attempts in September and October, the government and the opposition have been unable to reach a compromise in advance.