Report: French Envoy Gives Lebanon 2-Month Deadline to Launch Reforms

Pierre Duquesne, the French inter-ministerial delegate for the Mediterranean who is in charge of following up on the implementation of the resolutions of the CEDRE conference, has given Lebanon a two-month deadline to launch a number of reforms, a media report said.

“Duquesne, who is in Beirut, told those he met yesterday that France and its allies are giving Lebanon a two-month deadline to implement what they recommend of preliminary reforms,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

The said reforms “are based on privatization and the most dangerous steps concern the telecom sector,” the daily added.

“Should Lebanon fail to commit itself, the pledges of the donor and lending countries will be in peril,” al-Akhbar said.

According to information obtained by the newspaper, the French envoy called for “slashing the budget deficit by 1% from the GDP, devising a real and serious mechanism for combating tax evasion and corruption, seeking partnership contracts with the private sector and liberalizing the telecom sector.”

Duquesne is scheduled to hold a press conference on Friday afternoon.