Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visits France on Friday, his first trip to a European country since his January election and as Paris pushes Beirut for long-demanded political and economic reforms.

He is due to meet President Emmanuel Macron, who on a visit to Beirut days after Aoun's appointment said France would hold an international aid conference to support Lebanon's reconstruction after a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah.

No date for the conference has been announced.

Aoun was elected president after the position had been vacant for more than two years, under international pressure, including from former colonial power France.

His election, along with the formation of a new government in February led by reformist premier Nawaf Salam, ended a prolonged political impasse.

The breakthroughs came after the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, long a powerful........

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