BEIRUT: France is ready to help Lebanese political parties agree on a president if it was asked to do so, a high-ranking French foreign policy official said Tuesday after meeting Prime Minister Tammam Salam in Beirut.

“The Lebanese must make a final decision and choose a president for their state without foreign intervention,” Jean-François Girault, head of the French foreign ministry’s Middle East and North Africa department, said after the meeting at the Grand Serail.