PARIS (Reuters) - France had no prior warning of Libya’s eastern commander Khalifa Haftar’s advance on the capital Tripoli and was not trying to clandestinely undermine the country’s peace process, a French diplomatic source said on Monday.

“The immediate need in Libya is to protect the civilian population, put an end to the fighting, and get all the key Libyan players back around the table,” the diplomat said.

France had “no hidden agenda”, the official added.