Thursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met with Lebanese officials in Beirut, where political deadlock still prevails, preventing the formation of a proper government and thus the implementation of necessary economic reforms.

Le Drian met the Lebanese President Michel Aoun in a meeting that lasted less than an hour, and he left without making any statement. He is supposed to visit Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri later.

On the eve of his visit to Beirut, Le Drian tweeted that he was visiting Lebanon "carrying a very firm message to the Lebanese officials," adding, "We will deal firmly with those who obstruct the formation of the government, and we have taken measures (...) This is only the beginning."

Le Drian announced at the end of last month that his country had imposed restrictions on the entry of Lebanese personalities considered responsible for the political stalemate.

The identity of those personalities or the nature of those restrictions has not yet been disclosed, perhaps in an attempt by France to keep the threat based on the entirety of the Lebanese political class.

Since before the Beirut Port explosion on August 4, Lebanon has been suffering from an extreme economic crisis. The local currency has devalued over 85 percent, sending thousands into poverty.

However, about nine months after the resignation of Hassan Diab's government following the explosion, the Prime Minister-designate, Saad Hariri, has not formed a new cabinet amid differences between political forces, especially between Hariri and Aoun.

The formation of governments in Lebanon often takes many months due to sharp political divisions and quota disputes.

But the economic collapse, which was exacerbated by the explosion of the port and the measures to confront the coronavirus, are factors that do not allow procrastination.

French President Emmanuel Macron has visited Lebanon twice since the explosion of the Port, but to no avail.