France will host an international meeting on Monday on how to end months of political deadlock in cash-strapped Lebanon, the foreign ministry said.

The Paris gathering is to be attended by representatives from France, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said Thursday.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Thursday hailed a statement issued by the Christian spiritual leaders in Lebanon, saying “it delineates a promising course and opens the door to resolving the presidential crisis on the basis of partnership and national balance.”

“Since last summer, we have been the first to respond to this existential appeal and we will still be the first. This is what I stressed to Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in my latest visit to him and I hope everyone will respond to this call,” Bassil added.

A Hezbollah parliamentary delegation led by MP Mohammed Raad on Thursday held talks in Rabieh with ex-president and Free Patriotic Movement founder Michel Aoun.

During the meeting, Aoun stressed “the importance of national partnership, the continuation of the state building project, the fight against corruption and the protection of citizens’ rights,” the National News Agency said.

French presidential envoy Pierre Duquesne met Thursday at the Grand Serail with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Duquesne is in a two-day visit to Lebanon in a French mission aimed at supporting the energy sector in Lebanon.

Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun met Thursday with Saudi Ambassador in Lebanon Walid Boukhari in Yarze.

Aoun, 58, is on good terms with all sides of the political spectrum, although Hezbollah has criticized him for his close ties to Washington.

Dozens of lawsuits are being prepared to be filed in several European countries on behalf of the victims of the Beirut port explosion, a media report said.

The Nidaa al-Watan newspaper quoted a source from Accountability Now – which identifies itself as a Swiss foundation whose mission is to support the Lebanese civil society in its desire to put an end to the impunity of leaders – as saying that the lawsuits will be filed in Germany, France, Belgium, Croatia and the United Kingdom.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat is searching for a president, he told Annahar newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

"I am trying to find common ground and to break through the impasse in order to elect a president, until an Arab-international initiative crystallizes," Jumblat said.

A patrol from the judicial police on Wednesday raided money changers in the markets of the city of Baalbek and arrested two individuals who were practicing illegal money exchange operations, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The development comes a few days after State Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oueidat sent a memo to Financial Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim asking him to “immediately” order the arrest of the money changers and speculators who are contributing to “the collapse of the national currency.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has ruled out cooperation with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil in the presidential file, as he warned against electing a president not enjoying the support of the two main Christian parties – the LF and the FPM.

“A president cannot be elected against the will of Christians. If someone believes that they can elect a president against the will of the majority of Christians, then they are mistaken. This is not a way to behave, seeing as everyone knows the reality of constitutional posts,” Geagea said in an interview with Kuwait’s al-Rai newspaper.

Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar on Wednesday went to his office at the Justice Palace in Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported.

LBCI television meanwhile reported that Bitar met at the Palace with Higher Judicial Council chief Judge Suheil Abboud with the aim of “finding a certain solution for the Beirut port blast case.”