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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian traveled to Libya on Monday to push for the implementation of the Paris agreement, which calls for elections in December in the chaotic country. 19659002] "In Paris on May 29, Libyan officials pledged to hold presidential and legislative elections according to a precise timetable, by the end of the year," he said after the meeting. an interview with the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNA), the only internationally recognized Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli.
"This is what the Libyan citizens who have enlisted mbadively aspire to elections, "said the French minister.
"So this is the way to go and I came to remind those who took them of these commitments and this calendar and to share this approach with those who were not in Paris on May 29", he added.
Seven years after the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya remains adrift, with two rival political authorities, the GNA in Tripoli and an Eastern based supported by Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The economy of the country is faltering despite great oil wealth.
The main protagonists of the crisis, including Mr. Sarraj and Marshal Haftar, strongman of the East at the head of a Libyan national army (ANL) self-proclaimed, pledged to hold legislative and presidential elections on December 10 to try to get their country out of the rut.
– A million dollars –
"France supports the efforts of all those working in this direction, "added Mr. Le Drian announcing a French contribution of one million dollars (850,000 euros) for the organization of the polls.
In Tripoli, the French minister also met the president of the State Council, equivalent to a higher house, Khalef al-Mechri, a moderate Islamist.
He must also meet with Marshal Haftar and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, based in Tobruk (East)
M. Drian will also stop in Misrata, a coastal city 200 kilometers east of Tripoli, which has some of the most powerful militias in the country. These groups had not been represented in Paris.
In the absence of a structured central power, Libya has become a hub of emigration to Europe, even though the number of crossings to Italy has greatly increased. dropped this year.
It is also the field of action of various jihadist groups.
In an attempt to stabilize it, France is betting elections and playing its own score, alongside the UN special envoy Ghbadan Salamé, at the risk of turning other countries involved in Libya, Italy in the lead
For elections to be held, a compromise on a "constitutional basis" and an electoral law should in principle be found by 16 September. But political actors and militias continue to dispute the control of the country.
At the end of June, the two rival authorities thus engaged in a standoff over the control of oil terminals, just taken over by the men of the ANL to a local military commander.
Marshal Haftar, who is demanding a greater share of oil revenues for the east, has entrusted the management of several sites to parallel authorities, much to the chagrin of the international community, before reverse.
Over the course of these twists, "there is a phenomenon of loss compared to the ambition posted on May 29," said Jalel Harchaoui, a specialist in Libya.
– Too ambitious –
The countries "godfathers" of the different forces – United Arab Emirates and Egypt support Marshal Haftar, Qatar and Turkey some Islamist groups – also have their own agenda, as do Italy, the United States and Great Britain [19659002] Number of observers consider the electoral calendar evoked in France too ambitious given the rivalries on the ground and recommend to stabilize the economy first.
"Hasty elections will lead to an outbreak of violence, even a recovery large-scale civil war in this country, "warns Alexander Docina, a researcher at the Washington Council on Foreign Relations.
Militias who fear losing control of some resources in Should also be tempted to disrupt the holding of elections.
For French Senator Cédric Perrin, co-author of a parliamentary report on Libya, Emmanuel Macron must not confuse "speed and precipitation, action and communication "
" Elections at the end of the year, it seems extremely complex, even if this is what we should strive for, "he notes.
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