French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday urged all sides in Lebanon to grab a "last chance" next week to finally elect a president after a series of postponements.
"Monday is really the last chance, and France calls on all parties, inside and outside, to ensure that Lebanon can have a president," he told reporters after an EU summit in Brussels.
"Those would take the risk of killing off that chance would cut themselves off from a number of countries, first among them France," Sarkozy warned.
Lebanon has been without a head of state since November 23 when incumbent Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term, with rival political parties unable to agree on a successor.
A parliamentary session is due to be held Monday to elect a president but it is widely believed it will be postponed, as has happened on eight previous occasions since September.
Further destabalising the country was the recent car bomb killing of a senior army commander whose funeral was held Friday.
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