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Article snippet: PARIS — Lebanon’s absent prime minister arrived in France on Saturday morning after two weeks in Saudi Arabia, a mysterious stay that touched off intense speculation that he was being held against his will. The prime minister, Saad Hariri, who has not publicly explained the nature of his stay in Saudi Arabia, met with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for lunch at the Élysée Palace and confirmed that he would travel to Beirut later in the week. The meeting with Mr. Macron came hours after a phone call between Mr. Macron and the Lebanese president, Michel Aoun, the French president’s office said. Officials said that Mr. Aoun had thanked Mr. Macron for “France’s actions in favor of Lebanon” and confirmed that Mr. Hariri would be in Beirut for Lebanon’s Independence Day holiday, which is Wednesday. Mr. Hariri later said in statements to the news media that he would announce his position on the crisis in his country after holding talks with Mr. Aoun. “As you know, I have resigned and we will speak about this matter there,” Mr. Hariri told reporters, referring to Lebanon, as he was leaving the Élysée Palace, where he met with Mr. Macron for over 30 minutes, before gathering for lunch with his wife, their oldest son and Mr. Macron’s wife. After the meeting, officials in the French president’s office announced that Mr. Macron was considering gathering in Paris the members of the United Nations International Support Group for Lebanon, although no specific date was g... Link to the full article to read more