The director for United Nations and international organizations in the French Foreign Ministry Nicolas de Riviere renewed on Tuesday France’s support to Lebanon and its commitment to maintaining the stability and security of the South.

The French Embassy said in a statement: “De Riviere informed Lebanese officials during his trip to Lebanon that France will remain part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in order to preserve the stability of Lebanon and the region.”

Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan reportedly told Speaker Nabih Berri that the Maronite leaders’ decision to support the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal on the electoral draft law should be a foundation for a serious dialogue among Lebanese politicians.

An Nahar daily quoted Kanaan as telling Berri during a meeting held on Monday that the Christians refuse the status quo imposed on them since the adoption of the Taef Accord in 1989.

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Monday that the political parties should discuss thoroughly the possibility of adopting the Orthodox proposal regarding the parliamentary electoral law.

“This proposal is the result of the developments locally and in the region and is due to mounting fears (the Christians) have,” Berri’s visitors quoted him as saying.

A meeting was held on Thursday between several ministers from the Hizbullah-led March 8 forces as a follow-up to talks earlier in the week aimed at restoring the crippling relations between the Free Patriotic Movement, Hizbullah and Amal.

Al-Liwaa daily said that Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who represents Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal movement in the cabinet, Minister Jebran Bassil, who is loyal to FPM chief Michel Aoun, and Hizbullah leader’s aide Hussein Khalil held the talks.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed relief on Friday over the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon through the Higher Relief Council.

“I have already said that the payment will not be from the state’s budget and this is what happened… there might be other hidden issues related (to the funding) that will be unveiled soon,” Berri told An Nahar.

Hizbullah MP Nawwaf Moussawi apologized on Thursday to Speaker Nabih Berri and the lawmakers over the words he used during his verbal clash with Phalange deputy Sami Gemayel the day before.

In a statement issued by Hizbullah’s press office, Moussawi said: “Out of my respect to the party’s values and ethics, I apologize to Speaker Nabih Berri and fellow lawmakers over the offensive word I used in my response yesterday.”

High-ranking March 14 sources said Thursday that the language used by Hizbullah MP Nawwaf Moussawi in his dispute with Phalange lawmaker Sami Gemayel was rejected and was a reaction approved by his party.

“What happened during the session was an attempt to terrorize” MPs, but the Hizbullah lawmaker’s efforts failed after Gemayel and several other opposition members snapped back at him, the sources said.

Phalange lawmaker Sami Gemayel and Hizbullah MP Nawwaf Moussawi clashed in parliament on Wednesday when the issue of the Shiite group’s attempt to expand its telecommunications network was discussed.

During a Question and Answer session, the second since the formation of the cabinet, Gemayel criticized Hizbullah over its “illegal excavation and installation works in the town of Tarshish.”

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Commander Major General Alberto Asarta expressed frustration over the unstable security situation in the South, As Safir newspaper reported on Wednesday.

“After I have praised for a year and a half the ideal security situation in the South, saying that that this region is the most stable,” the situation deteriorated, the daily quoted Asarta as telling Speaker Nabih Berri during a meeting at Ain el-Tineh on Tuesday.

A meeting was held lately between Ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Jebran Bassil, and the aide of the Hizbullah chief, Hussein Khalil, to set the stage for talks between leaders of the March 8 coalition, media reports said Wednesday.

An Nahar newspaper said the meeting was aimed at containing the rift between them after the Hizbullah ministers voted at a cabinet session last week in favor of a proposal made by Premier Najib Miqati rather than supporting a decree on the increase in wages suggested by Minister Charbel Nahhas, who is their ally.