The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) opposition said on Sunday that it expects France to use its influence to urge the international community to adopt decisions that will help to end the fighting in the eastern parts of the country.

The opposition's appeal was made in Kinshasa at a press conference that was addressed by Lucien Mbusa, the deputy secretary general of the Congo Liberation Movement (MLC).

Mbusa, who on Saturday met in Kinshasa with French President Francois Hollande, agreed with the president's opinion that the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO) should be reinforced so that the UN mission can help DR Congo to recover its territorial integrity.

Mbusa said that he had discussed with Hollande about the general situation in DR Congo.

"We discussed about the war in eastern Congo, the legitimacy after the November 2011 presidential elections, corruption, the massive violations of human rights as well as the situation of the Congolese nationals who have been imprisoned for over five years without being charged in court," he said.

During the meeting with the French president, Mbusa was accompanied by Vital Kamerhe who is the national chairman of the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC), Martin Fayulu who is the chairman of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development (ECIDE), Samy Badibanga, a UDPS parliamentarian and Pierre Anatole Matusila who leads the Alliance for Kongo Builders (ABAKO).

Etienne Tshisekedi, the chairman of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the oldest Congolese opposition political party, also met with the French president on Saturday.

Having been the main challenger of President Joseph Kabila during the 2011 presidential elections, Tshisekedi continued to lament over the rigging of those elections and considered himself as DR Congo's president-elect.

"Legitimacy in Congo should only come from the Congolese people, " the French president declared.