<div align="justify">Saad al-Hariri, who resigned as Lebanon's prime minister this month while in Saudi Arabia, arrived in Paris on Saturday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, a statement from Hariri's press office said.<br /><br />Hariri told Lebanese President Michel Aoun in a phone call from Paris that he would be in Lebanon on Wednesday for Independence Day celebrations, Aoun said on Twitter.<br /><br />Hariri will meet Macron in the afternoon and then attend a lunch in his honour with his wife and eldest son, the statement said.<br /><br />Macron said on Friday he would welcome Hariri to Paris as Lebanon's prime minister and expected him to return to Beirut in the "coming days, weeks".<br /><br />Hariri's abrupt resignation on November 4 and continued stay in Saudi Arabia has caused fears for Lebanon's stability. His visit to France with his family is seen as part of a possible way out of the crisis.<br /><br />Okab Saqr, a member of parliament for Hariri's Future Movement, had said that after Hariri's visit to France he would have "a small Arab tour" before travelling to Beirut.<br /><br />The crisis has thrust Lebanon into the regional rivalry pitting Saudi Arabia and its allies against a bloc led by Iran, which includes the heavily armed Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah group.<br /><br />Aoun, a political ally of Hezbollah, has called Hariri a Saudi hostage and refused to accept his resignation unless he returns to Lebanon. Saudi Arabia and Hariri say his movements are not restricted. <br /></div>
<div align="justify">Saad al-Hariri, who resigned as Lebanon's prime minister this month while in Saudi Arabia, arrived in Paris on Saturday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, a statement from Hariri's press office said.<br /><br />Hariri told Lebanese President Michel Aoun in a phone call from Paris that he would be in Lebanon on Wednesday for Independence Day celebrations, Aoun said on Twitter.<br /><br />Hariri will meet Macron in the afternoon and then attend a lunch in his honour with his wife and eldest son, the statement said.<br /><br />Macron said on Friday he would welcome Hariri to Paris as Lebanon's prime minister and expected him to return to Beirut in the "coming days, weeks".<br /><br />Hariri's abrupt resignation on November 4 and continued stay in Saudi Arabia has caused fears for Lebanon's stability. His visit to France with his family is seen as part of a possible way out of the crisis.<br /><br />Okab Saqr, a member of parliament for Hariri's Future Movement, had said that after Hariri's visit to France he would have "a small Arab tour" before travelling to Beirut.<br /><br />The crisis has thrust Lebanon into the regional rivalry pitting Saudi Arabia and its allies against a bloc led by Iran, which includes the heavily armed Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah group.<br /><br />Aoun, a political ally of Hezbollah, has called Hariri a Saudi hostage and refused to accept his resignation unless he returns to Lebanon. Saudi Arabia and Hariri say his movements are not restricted. <br /></div>