France offers to hold Lebanon donor conference

France offered Monday to hold an international donor conference on economic reconstruction in Lebanon in January. The offer was in response to a Lebanese government request, President Jacques Chirac's office said in a statement. At a first conference in Stockholm, Sweden, in late August, the United States, Europe and Gulf states pledged nearly US$1 billion to help Lebanon recover from the war between Israel and Hizbullah. That money was earmarked for rebuilding infrastructure, clearing unexploded bombs and restoring social services. Another donors' conference was planned for long-term reconstruction.