French officials will reportedly meet with a visiting delegation from the majority March 14 Forces to urge the coalition to improve ties with Syria and not give the neighboring country an excuse not to fulfill its commitments.

According to information obtained by Naharnet, the March 14 delegation – made of MPs Marwan Hamadeh and Samir Franjieh as well as March 14 coordinator Fares Soaid and National Liberal Party leader Dory Chamoun – will meet head of the Middle East and North Africa department at the French foreign ministry Patrice Paoli and his aides.

Pan Arab daily al-Hayat on Thursday quoted a well-informed French source as saying that France wants to urge the alliance to improve its relations with Syria and not to give Damascus "any pretext to run away from its commitments."

The source said that Paris wants to hear the coalition's view on the adoption of the new elections law, the launch of the national dialogue and the unstable security situation in the northern city of Tripoli.

He also said that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is ready to receive Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun anytime the Lebanese MP wants.

The source said Damascus was worried about the situation in Tripoli because of historic ties between the city's Sunnis and those of Homs in Syria.

But such worries shouldn't lead to a change in Syria's policy towards the Lebanese city, according to the source, and that Damascus shouldn't adopt any measure that contradicts recent Syrian openness.

On the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms area, the source said: "France continues to ask Israel to withdraw from" the zone in order to put an end to Hizbullah's excuses to keep its arms.

The source also said that Israel has been expressing concern to France and the U.S. about alleged arms smuggling to Hizbullah through the Syrian border.

France sees that the best way is for Israel to withdraw from Shebaa, according to the source.