Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Friday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Ad-Diyar
Did Sarkozy tell Rai that Christians must emigrate from Lebanon to France?
European Union plan to absorb 3 million Christians from Lebanon and Syria
A member of the delegation that accompanied Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai to Paris said that French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked the patriarch seriously: “Given that there are 1.3 million Christians in Lebanon and 1.5 million in Syria, why don’t Christians move to Europe, since Europe has absorbed 2 million Christian immigrants from Iraq?”
Sarkozy explained to Rai that in light of the culture war – particularly that between Christians and Muslims – there is no room for Christians in the Levant, and said that the best solution would be for them to come to the European Union.
Rai was stunned. He asked Sarkozy: "How can something like this happen?,” prompting Sarkozy to present the patriarch with a document containing information revealing that more than 3 million Christians had emigrated from Lebanon over the past twenty years, and that the Middle East is headed toward serious conflict.
The patriarch returned to Lebanon and made statements contrary to the French position as Rai considered launching a new Arab stance in order to safeguard Christians.
An-Nahar
Sleiman at Security Council: International community must compel Israel to implement Resolution 1701
Parliament ends battle over electricity plan by passing bill as Aoun voices reservations
Maronite leaders meet in Bkirki [Friday] to study committee’s election law report
Lebanon’s participation in the 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly Thursday took an extraordinary turn when President Michel Sleiman chaired the meeting on "preventative diplomacy" in the Security Council. It is the first time that a Lebanese head of state has presided over such a U.N. meeting.
Meanwhile, on the domestic scene, Parliament put an end to the more than two-month battle over the electricity plan by endorsing a decision taken by Cabinet instead of the draft law that Energy Minister Jibran Bassil had insisted on passing.
As-Safir
Consensus in Parliament strengthens government ... protects opposition
Suddenly there comes someone to “brighten” the minds of the country’s lawmakers, offering the Lebanese a magical solution – providing round-the-clock power supply across Lebanon.
Yes, the Lebanese are now able to celebrate the electricity plan approved by Parliament Thursday, a plan which was lost for two decades in the midst of the mafias’ oil and electricity considerations.
Perhaps unanimity among lawmakers over the electricity bill – which until the final hour was stalled between rival political parties – has made approval of the plan take a particularly strong unanimous dimension, with both opposition and majority MPs, and those who stand between them, adopting this as a political “achievement."
If Mikati’s government has registered an "achievement" in history, the "magic solution" offered by Berri made everyone meet halfway on the road.
Al-Mustaqbal
Ban reminds Sleiman of Lebanon’s commitment to STL … Maronites meet in Bkirki Friday
Electricity bill approved … Only Aoun got ‘electrified’
With Parliament’s ratification of the electricity bill by consensus – with the exception of MP Michel Aoun – the electricity reform plan has now become a reality, pending implementation.
On Thursday, MP Aoun and his son-in-law Energy Minister Jibran Bassil were sternly defeated; triggering Bassil to come out in the evening directly attacking the Future Movement, while indirectly attacking Parliament and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in his meeting with President Michel Sleiman. He also reiterated his call for the government to implement its obligations with regard to the court.
Al-Akhbar
Electricity plan “illuminates” Parliament, debate shifts to [public] appointments
Parliament Thursday approved the electricity plan by consensus. The page has been turned on the electricity bill only to move to the issue of administrative and judicial appointments, in addition to funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.