Macron Returns to Beirut Seeking Reform
French President Emmanuel Macron, the first world leader to visit Lebanon after the devastating Beirut port blast, will return to Beirut next week to press for reform and reconstruction.
Macron will depart Monday for a full day of meetings Tuesday in a bid to boost the reconstruction effort but also looking at political issues as Lebanon searches for a new government, the French presidency said.
Macron visited Beirut on August 6, two days after a massive explosion at the port killed 181 people and wounded thousands.
On August 9, he chaired a video conference that saw world leaders pledge more than 250 million euros ($295 million) for Lebanon.
But he has made it clear that the country needs political reform as well as financial help, a message that has struck a chord with many Lebanese tired of decades of rule by the same political dynasties.
The need for profound change meant "it is the time of responsibility for Lebanon today and its leaders" who required "a new pact with the Lebanese people in the coming weeks," Macron said in Beirut on August 6.
Premier Hassan Diab's cabinet has resigned over the blast, which was blamed on a store of ammonium nitrate left for years in a port warehouse despite warnings.
But in a pattern all-too-familiar to the Lebanese, the country today appears no closer to forming a new government.
France has repeatedly indicated that aid is not a blank check and Lebanon must deal with its political and economic problems that led to crisis even before the blast.
"The catastrophe should not be used as a pretext to obscure the reality that existed before of a country that is on the brink of the abyss... and which cannot reform itself," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said this week.
"We want the Lebanese authorities to take the necessary leap for a government tasked with starting the essential reforms," he said, adding it was "not for us to replace the Lebanese government, it is up to the Lebanese to assume their responsibilities."
Lebanon was under French mandate from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the wake of World War I until its independence in November 1943.
26 August 2020, 17:53
02
God help Lebanon. FPM has become a blight worse than the others and that is a feat difficult to achieve by anyone. So Kudos for Aoun, Bassil and the FPM for being no 1 - yet again. They are always ready to destroy the country for their own selfish interests.
26 August 2020, 18:15
02
First it is a Welcome initiative, that a president of an important European country comes to Lebanon to help. However for another sovereign and respectful country it would be a disgrace to allow foreign countries to be involved in their interior affairs. For Lebanon this is not new ,since the independence the government has been patronised by foreigners . And why? Simple : because the population do not trust each other , they need foreigners to organise them , How come ? Simple the sectarian differences are huge and this is strengthened and accentuated in the constitution.;hatred and distrust is the result. Reforms solutions Monsieur Macron? Please start by changing the foundation, this means the reforms should convince the Lebanese that they became emancipated from their warlords ,that they are free to vote as they like, that they are all equals and they have equal rights and opportunities.
26 August 2020, 18:33
02
In order to acheive reforms the world governments need to declare the current Lebanese Government as "Persona non Grata" the protesters need to band together form a government and have the world endosre the shadow government. No solution as long as the world is still meeting with these crooks and allowing them a say in the upcoming formation of the Government.
26 August 2020, 20:07
03
Back to square one.Nothing will change unless the Lebanese croocked mentality is changed. Lebanese ruling class are a mirror copy of large swaths of the population. Liers, greedy, oportunistic, pretentious, sectarian, unpatriotic beggars and thieves.
