Beirut- France called on Lebanon's political factions Saturday to end their confrontation ahead of an international donor conference to help the war-torn country rebuild.

"We want Lebanon to overcome its current turmoil," Douste-Blazy said in a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The latest tensions in Lebanon erupted more than a month ago when six pro-Hezbollah Cabinet ministers resigned after Prime Minister Fouad Siniora rejected their demand for a new national unity government that would give the Shiite militant group more power.

Hezbollah supporters have since staged large street protests to demand the resignation of the Western-backed Siniora.

Hezbollah's support among Shiites surged after its war with Israel over the summer and emboldened it to push for more political power. But Siniora, who has received Western and Arab backing, refuses to resign.

Douste-Blazy praised efforts by the Arab League to mediate a political solution to the standoff and prevent "any attempts to destabilize Lebanon."
He visited Saudi Arabia earlier on Saturday to discuss the oil-rich nation's support for the Paris conference.

In a joint news conference, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal stressed that Lebanon's political confrontation must end for the donors' meeting to succeed.

France does not see Lebanon crisis impacting aid

International donors have not changed plans to help Lebanon recover from last year's war with Israel despite a political crisis that added further strain to its economy, France's foreign minister said on Saturday.

Lebanon's government on Tuesday unveiled economic reforms to be presented to an international donors' conference in Paris this month that Beirut hopes will raise $4 billion to help its economy recover from a devastating summer war with Israel.

"This (Paris conference) is the opportunity to show support to the (Lebanese) government ... which is an elected government that came from an elected majority," Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told reporters in Riyadh.

"As far as I know, the current crisis has not at all led to any review either in the participation of any country or in the amount of reconstruction aid," he said after talks with Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal. He did not give aid figures.

Sources: AP, Reuters,