Lebanese leader visits France after mysterious Saudi stay
PARIS — Lebanon’s absent prime minister arrived in France on Saturday after two weeks in Saudi Arabia, a mysterious stay that touched off intense speculation that he was being held against his will.
The prime minister, Saad Hariri, who has not publicly explained the nature of his stay in Saudi Arabia, met with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for lunch at the Élysée Palace and confirmed that he would travel to Beirut later in the week.
The meeting with Macron came hours after a phone call between Macron and the Lebanese president, Michel Aoun, the French president’s office said. Officials said Aoun had thanked Macron for “France’s actions in favor of Lebanon” and confirmed that Hariri would be in Beirut for Lebanon’s Independence Day holiday Wednesday.
Hariri later said in statements that he would announce his position on the crisis in his country after holding talks with Aoun. “As you know, I have resigned and we will speak about this matter there,” Hariri told reporters, referring to Lebanon, as he was leaving the Élysée Palace.
French officials refused to say whether Hariri had explained to Macron the reason for his mysterious stay in Saudi Arabia or the circumstances around the announcement of his resignation.
Hariri’s office said earlier Saturday that his wife, Lara, and their son Houssam would be present at the lunch at the Élysée Palace.
Hariri’s two younger children, a 16-year-old daughter, Loulwa, and a 12-year-old son, Abdulaziz, did not appear in footage of his arrival. The two have been attending school in Saudi Arabia, but their apparent absence was an obstacle to ending concerns that Hariri was not acting freely. It left room for speculation that the Saudis had pressured Hariri to leave them in the country as leverage.
Hariri announced Nov. 4 from Riyadh, the Saudi capital, that he was stepping down, but officials in Lebanon have said his departure would not take effect until he delivered his resignation in person.
Hariri’s unexpected trip and resignation unsettled the Middle East, setting off a political crisis in Lebanon and even raising fears of war. Saudi Arabia was widely seen as pressuring Hariri to resign as part of its escalating regional feud with Iran and its effort to isolate Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia and political party that is part of Hariri’s coalition government.
Hariri said he feared for his safety in Lebanon.
With European diplomats scrambling to defuse the crisis, France seized the role of mediator. Macron made a visit to Riyadh on Nov. 9. A week later, the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, met Hariri in the Saudi capital.
Macron’s deputy adviser on diplomacy also traveled from Paris to Lebanon during the crisis, while Macron was having “direct and frequent” contacts with leaders in the region.