Lebanon needs to quickly form a government that can push necessary reforms, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday, two days after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigned following mass demonstrations.
Le Drain said Lebanese citizens' right to peaceful protest must be preserved.
Lebanon's troops and riot police deployed on Thursday to reopen a major highway north of Beirut and a bridge in the capital that anti-government protesters had blocked.
After protests had largely subsided on Wednesday, protesters took to the streets again overnight and on Thursday, with many demonstrators demanding more resignations.
Banks, shut for nearly two weeks, are due to reopen on Friday.
Lebanon's dollar bonds rose for the first time in 10 working days with 2021 maturity debt rising 0.8 cents to 68.5 cents in the dollar, its biggest jump in six weeks.
The bonds have been under huge selling pressure in recent days amid simmering concerns about the government's ability to meet its debt obligations. At nearly 150 percent of GDP, Lebanon has one of the world's highest public debt burdens.
President Michel Aoun has formally asked the cabinet to continue in a caretaker role until a new one is formed, as required by Lebanon's system of government.
A senior official familiar with Hariri's thinking said he was ready to return as premier of a new Lebanese government on condition it includes technocrats and can quickly implement reforms to stave off economic collapse.
Seeking to restore a semblance of normality, troops and riot police deployed on Thursday morning, reopening roads including a major highway north of Beirut and a bridge in the capital.
"We've been on the streets for 14 days. The politicians have been taking this as if nothing's happening," said Simon Nehme, a protester at the Ring Bridge in Beirut. "They're stalling to get us bored and tell us to leave the streets. This won't happen."
Lebanon's army command has said people have the right to protest but only in public squares. Soldiers fired tear gas after clashing with protesters blocking a road on Wednesday night in the Akkar region.
The education minister has called on schools and universities to reopen their doors but in the capital, as well as parts of the north and south of the country, most schools remained shut on Thursday, Reuters witnesses said.
