Report: Lebanon 'Loses' French Opportunity to Draw It Out of Crisis

Crisis-hit Lebanon has reportedly “wasted” a valuable opportunity by not benefiting from the momentum of the French initiative “at the right time,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

Diplomatic sources in Paris told the daily that Lebanon “lost” the priority on the agenda of the French President Emmanuel Macron by not grasping the initiative he presented to help Lebanon steer out of its crisis.

“Macron was disappointed by the failure of Lebanon’s political forces to capture an international and regional moment favorable to obtaining the aid that the Lebanese desperately need,” said the sources on condition of anonymity.

The French president reportedly has different priorities now beginning with, confronting a terrorist wave that France is witnessing recently, adding to combating a second wave of coronavirus and its economic repercussions on the French economy, according to the sources.

“France no longer has anything to provide to Lebanon, mainly that Lebanese officials refused to take the French advice into consideration in order to get international assistance,” added the sources.

They revealed that “Bernard Emie, director general of France's external intelligence service, is becoming more concerned about the issue of combating terrorist operations, while the head of the crisis cell in the French presidency, Emmanuel Bonn, is facing internal administrative problems, which has negatively affected Lebanon, whose officials chose to leave it without any assistance as it falls.”