French centers to reopen if tensions ease

 

The head of the cultural section at the French Embassy in Beirut Dennis Gailler denied on Tuesday that the decision of the French government to close two of its cultural centers in Lebanon was a final one, adding that the centers could reopen once the security situation “has cooled down.”

 

France has shut two of its cultural centers in Lebanon, due to the fragile security situation in the country, the French Embassy said in a statement late Monday.

 

“The French cultural centers, in the southern city of Sidon and in Tripoli north of Lebanon, were being temporarily shut down,” it said.  “Security of these cultural missions is a priority.”

 

The French statement followed a warning issued by Saudi Arabia for its citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon because of the “unstable” security situation.

 

The Saudi Press Agency distributed the advisory attributed to an official source at the Foreign Ministry who also urged Saudis living in Lebanon to adopt the “required precautionary measures” in their movements.

 

The move by Saudi Arabia and France followed street clashes in Lebanon in the past three days.

“Our decision to temporarily shut down the centers in Sidon and Tripoli is in no way tied to the Saudi warning,” Gailler said on Tuesday.

 

Lebanon”s political crisis began in November 2006 when Hizbullah and its allies pulled five of their Cabinet members in a bid to gain more representation in government.

 

The crisis has led Lebanon into deep division between the government and opposition and has left the country without a president since the term Emile Lahoud ended in November 23, 2007.

 

Arab League chief Amr Moussa is expected to return to Lebanon by the end of the week to exert pressure on rival sides to accept a three-point Arab plan which aims at electing commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces General Michel Suleiman as president, forming a government of national unity and drafting a new electoral law.