The former Renault-Nissan alliance boss Carlos Ghosn, who holds joint French, Lebanese andf Brazilian nationality and who has been detained in Japan awaiting trial since November 2018 over accusations of financial misconduct at the carmakers, under strict conditions that also barred him from leaving Japan, arrived in Lebanon by private jet from Turkey on Monday according to several media reports.
A degree of mystery continues to surround what appears to have been a forced sojourn of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Saudi Arabia last month, to the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Middle East centred on the Saudi kingdom’s rivalry with Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron played what Hariri has called a “historic” role that secured his departure from Riyadh, but the financial difficulties of the Lebanese politician’s extensive business interests may also be part of the complex plot leading up to the November events. Karl Laske reports.
Lebanese prime minister Saad al-Hariri, whose prolonged stay in Saudi Arabia since announcing his resignation on November 3rd was described as a hostage-taking by the Lebanese president, is expected to fly to France after intense diplomatic negotiations between Paris and Riyadh.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Tuesday said Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri must be 'freely' allowed to leave Saudi Arabia, where he has been staying in mysterious circumstances since announcing from there earlier this month that he was stepping down from his post, so that he can 'clarify his situation in accordance with the Lebanese constitution'.
French far-right presidential election candidate Marine Le Pen, on a visit to Lebanon where she has met with a number of officials, cancelled her planned meeting with the head of the Lebanese Sunni Muslim authority Dar al-Fatwa, after she refused to wear a headscarf when she arrived for the encounter, despite having been previously notified of the requirement.
Front National part leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen began a two-day visit to Lebanon by meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday ahead of talks with business and religious leaders.
Arriving in Beirut ahead of visits to Egypt and Jordan, the French president pledged increased financial and military aid for Lebanon, home to 1m Syrian refugees.
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