France has started to put in place measures limiting access to French territory for people blocking the political process in Lebanon, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday.
Le Drian also said in a statement that France is taking similar measures for people involved in corruption in Lebanon.
Premier-designate Saad Hariri has not been able to form a cabinet six months after he was chosen for the post amid deep disagreements between him and President Michel Aoun.
One of the main points of difference includes Aoun’s rejection of Hariri’s plan to choose some Christian members of the new government.
The Free Patriotic Movement, which is headed by Gebran Bassil, who is also Aoun’s son-in-law, has also accused Hariri of trying to orchestrate a majority for his own supporters.
Hariri was nominated in October to form a cabinet after Hassan Diab’s government resigned in the wake of the Beirut port blast, which killed 200 people and damaged large swathes of the city.
Lebanon is experiencing its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history following decades of widespread corruption. Since late 2019, the local currency has lost 90% of its value, and more than half of the country's population now lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.
With the European Union, Paris has been working on creating a sanctions regime for Lebanon that could ultimately see asset freezes and travel bans.
However, that is likely to take time. As part of efforts to raise pressure on key Lebanese actors, France intends to stop issuing visas to certain officials, diplomats have said.
"On a national basis, we have started to implement restrictive measures in terms of access to French territory against personalities involved in the current political blockage, or involved in corruption," Le Drian said in remarks alongside his Maltese counterpart.
Le Drian gave no names and it was not clear if the actual measures were already in place.
"It’s not just words in the air," said a French diplomat.
They (Lebanese officials) can reassure themselves that it’s not just threats."
Two diplomats said a list of names had been put together and people were being made aware.
"We reserve the right to adopt additional measures against all those who hinder the way out of the crisis and we will do so in coordination with our international partners," Le Drian added.
