French leader plays peacemaker, hosting top Libyan rivals

President Emmanuel Macron is hosting a meeting of the two main rival leaders of chaotic Libya, trying to play peacemaker in a country where the stakes are high for both Europe and Africa.
The series of meetings this afternoon at a chateau west of Paris will bring together Fayez Serraj, prime minister of the UN-backed government, and Gen Khalifa Hifter, Egyptian- backed commander of Libya's self-styled national army. Macron will be present, as well as the UN's newly appointed special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame.
French officials hope the encounters will facilitate a political entente and end with a joint declaration stating, among other things, that there can be no military solution to the crisis that is boosting Islamic militants and traffickers preying on migrants, as well as instability across the region.