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Macron is expected to visit Beirut next Tuesday (Hussein Baydoun / The New Arab)
French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Friday of a “civil war” in Lebanon “if we abandon it”, shortly before his return to Beirut next week in an effort to end the political crisis preventing the formation of a government that will take the country out of its deep crisis.
Macron said from Paris: “If we leave Lebanon in the region, and if we somehow leave it in the hands of corrupt regional powers, a civil war will break out.” This will lead to “undermining Lebanese identity” in the country that witnessed a devastating explosion in early August in the port of Beirut that killed it. 181 people died.
Macron referred to “restrictions imposed by the sectarian system” that “if added – to put it conservatively – to the relevant interests”, “lead to a situation in which there is hardly any (political) renewal and where there is almost no impossibility to carry out reforms. “
Regarding the “claim without intervention” approach, he referred to the reforms that should be implemented: “approval of the anti-corruption law, reform of public contracts and reform of the energy sector” and of the banking system.
He warned that “if we don’t do this, the Lebanese economy will collapse,” and “the only victim will be the Lebanese … who cannot go into exile.”
However, as Macron said, Lebanon “is perhaps one of the last existing incarnations of what we believe in this region: the interreligious coexistence that manifests itself in its most peaceful manifestations (…), and the model of pluralism based on education, culture and the ability to trade in peace. “
Emmanuel Macron paid a whirlwind visit to Lebanon, two days after a large quantity of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut on August 4.
On Tuesday morning, the French president will return to the affected neighborhoods, where he will inspect the removal of debris and the distribution of aid. However, Macron is expected to give a boost to efforts to resolve the complex political crisis, nearly three weeks after the Hassan Diab government’s resignation.
(Brush from France)
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