The President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, received French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, appreciating the role that France and President Macron are playing in helping Lebanon. President Aoun explained that "the negotiating initiative is still in place, but the military escalation is hindering its launch." For his part, Minister Jean-Noël Barrot expressed France's readiness to work to put an end to the military escalation, based on the "courageous" negotiating initiative announced by President Aoun.