BEIRUT: The Amal Movement’s support for MP Sleiman Frangieh’s presidential candidacy remained firm, a March 8 source told The Daily Star Thursday, leaving any resolution to the postponed election distant.

“As long as Frangieh is a candidate, [Parliament Speaker Nabih] Berri’s bloc will vote for him,” the March 8 source said.

Frangieh has no plans to withdraw from the race, the source added.

Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande sounded the alarm over the persisting presidential vacuum, calling on Saudi Arabia and Iran to extend hands and find a solution to the crisis.

“The ongoing power vacuum in Lebanon is a shame and could become dangerous,” Hollande warned in a speech addressing French and foreign ambassadors.

He urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to cooperate in order to find a suitable solution for the ongoing presidential stalemate.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea surprised the political establishment Monday by endorsing FPM leader Michel Aoun for president, but with four days’ perspective, the electoral landscape does not appear to have much changed.

Frangieh has the support of the Future Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party and Amal, while Aoun can count the Lebanese Forces and Hezbollah on his side. Effectively, either camp can still spoil an election – Parliament requires a two-thirds quorum to hold a vote.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014, when Michel Sleiman’s term ended.

Geagea Wednesday challenged Hezbollah to rally the March 8 bloc behind Aoun, calling it the party’s “moment of truth.” Hezbollah has so far declined to reply, and the party’s Resistance bloc in Parliament postponed its weekly meeting.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai praised Geagea’s decision to endorse his war-time rival Aoun to the state’s top Christian post.

“We want a head of state in Lebanon,” the patriarch said before flying to Rome, where he is to attend the Vatican inauguration of the altar of St. Maron Church and meet with prominent church officials.

Rai emphasized that the patriarchate has been seeking to press political rivals in Lebanon to discuss the presidential crisis and select a candidate. “It’s a pleasant initiative that all Lebanese have hailed,” he said of Geagea’s endorsement.

Rai urged all blocs to shoulder their responsibilities and consider regional and global developments to elect an “acceptable” president. He also denied rumors that he would hold talks with Frangieh or Future Movement leader Saad Hariri while in Italy.Senior Future Movement officials met with Berri at the speaker’s Ain al-Tineh residence Thursday, but emerged tight-lipped.

“Less talk is better,” said Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, who attended the meeting with Berri, Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil and Hariri’s chief of staff Nader Hariri.

The Kataeb Party has yet to take a position on this week’s developments. Observers are waiting to see whether the party will follow the LF’ lead. Though the Kataeb are March 14, they have declined to endorse Frangieh.

Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel is to speak about the matter Friday afternoon.

The Future Movement surprised the political establishment by supporting Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Frangieh in a bid to end the presidential vacuum. But the gesture pushed Geagea into the arms of Aoun.

“Given a choice between Aoun and Frangieh, we will choose Aoun. We have chosen Aoun for the presidency because Frangieh is genuine March 8, while the general [Aoun] is a fake March 8,” the LF leader said Wednesday.

Frangieh announced his candidacy in mid-December.

The Democratic Gathering bloc, led by Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party, issued reserved praise for the LF move.

“We welcome the new agreement between the LF and the FPM ... but we are holding onto our presidential candidate,” the bloc said in a statement released after its weekly meeting.

The statement stressed that reconciliation among Christians is “an important step to reinforce the national agreements.”

“Such rapprochement could [have a positive impact] on the reconciliation [process] and national unity among the Lebanese, which is a pressing need,” the statement added.

“[MP] Henri Helou is still our [presidential] candidate,” the statement added, elaborating that he represents “the course of moderation and dialogue approach.”

The bloc said it “valued the initiative to nominate [Marada Movement leader] Sleiman Frangieh and considered it a solution to the crisis, but at the same time the nomination of Aoun agrees with the specifications that [rivals] agreed on during the national dialogue table.”

“We welcome any move that could revive the presidential election talks, which is a key matter to regulate the work of constitutional institutions,” the statement concluded.

Jumblatt tweeted soon after the meeting ended that the bloc “came up with clear recommendations,” without elaborating further.

Geagea later said in remarks to the Central News Agency that he “valued the stance of the Democratic Gathering [bloc] and that of the Progressive Socialist Party.”

“Jumblatt has always been [a politician that abides by] the Constitution, who has been always keen to preserve coexistence ... therefore, it comes as no surprise the position of the bloc and PSP from the Maarab agreement.”

He called on all parliamentary blocs to take “the necessary measures in order to swiftly stage the presidential election, which would benefit Lebanon and the Lebanese.”