France ready to send observers for Lebanon's elections

Beirut - France is ready to send people to Lebanon to observe or to assist with the upcoming legislative elections planned for May 2009, said visiting French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Friday. 'France is ready, if Lebanon wishes, to provide technical support during the elections,' Fillon said, speaking in Beirut to a group of French and Lebanese businessmen. The French official stressed that the assistance could consist of helping organize the polls or providing observers as part of a European Union initiative. The international community has said it will be closely watching the polls planned in May, where the opposition backed by the Iranian- backed Shiite group Hezbollah and the current Western-backed ruling majority will be competing for 128 parliament seats. Following a visit to French troops who are working among the United Nations Interim Forces in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), Fillon said the border between Lebanon and neighboring Syria 'needs to be delineated and controls along the border need to be strengthened.' The issue of missing Lebanese should be resolved soon, the French premier added, referring to hundreds of Lebanese who went missing during the country's 1975-1990 civil war and who are thought to be held in Syrian prisons. Syria was Lebanon's powerbroker for nearly three decades until 2005 when Syria was forced to pull its troops from Lebanon following the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri in a massive car bomb. Damascus has vehemently denied any role in the killing. Fillon, who on the two-day tour has been accompanied by a delegation of businessmen, encouraged further investment by French companies in Lebanon. On Thursday, Fillon signed a number of economic accords related to a 500-million-euro loan promised by Paris in 2007. The money was pledged for reconstruction following the devastating summer 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Fillon last visited Lebanon in June when he accompanied French President Nicolas Sarkozy on a visit aimed at offering support to the then newly elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman.