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Michel Abu Negm books in “Asharq Al-Awsat” French President Emmanuel Macron’s approach to dealing with the Lebanese political class can be summed up as “an iron hand on a silk glove” or that he resorted to a “carrot and stick” policy to push it to move and leave its place. Macron did not wait for his arrival in Beirut to go out to the public what he wanted from him, that is, to go through a rescue process called reforms that were transferred to Beirut within the framework of what the Elysee sources called a ‘road map ‘which includes 6 points that are no longer a secret. Macron warned that leaving Lebanon alone and refraining from helping it “means entering a civil war.” And the foreign minister preceded him last week by warning that Lebanon, which probably means that the Lebanese state “is going to disappear”, without this reform process.
Macron’s gestures are included in the invitation to help and save Lebanon and his promises to do more. Macron was the first head of state, “but the only head of state”, who rushed to Beirut less than 48 hours after the port explosion. And after him, the rosary of visitors and help cards. Macron did not arrive empty-handed when French aid arrived, and a team of 750 people, including some 500 soldiers, arrived in Lebanon with their heavy equipment to begin clearing the debris, and another team to extend a hand in the investigation of the recent disaster. Macron then called an international meeting to collect aid that resulted in commitments of 250 million euros. Given the complexities of the Lebanese dossier, Macron enlisted French diplomacy for a broad campaign to pave the political path and provide the conditions to fill the institutional void and bring in a new government. To do this, the fan expanded his contacts at the Gulf, Arab, regional and international levels seeking to obtain something like a “mandate”, and tried to circumvent the opponents who use Lebanon as a setting to settle scores, including communicating with Tehran and Washington and dealing with Hezbollah, which “has representatives in Parliament.” While confirming, at the same time, that you do not agree with several of their policies. Despite his country’s financial, economic and health difficulties, Macron visited Lebanon twice in less than 4 weeks and sent the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Health, and promised to make a third visit next December.
In addition, Paris worked on the development of the reform proposals it considers necessary to persuade the “Lebanon Support Group” and the international financial institutions to support Lebanon and link any positive gesture towards it with its implementation, which is what Lebanon did not make despite its commitments in the framework of the “CEDRE” conference held in spring 2018. And it resulted in pledges of aid and loans worth 11 billion dollars, of which it did not receive a single dollar due to internal Lebanese disputes and failure to keep promises. And the latest issued by the French president in this context, indicated, on the occasion of her meeting in the port of Beirut, yesterday with representatives of civil society and the United Nations, that Paris is ready to convene a new international conference in the middle o end of next October under the auspices of the United Nations to “mobilize the international community” to provide support to Lebanon.
The return Macron wants, according to his statements in Beirut and statements from sources at the Elysee in Paris, is a “mission government” that adopts a reform program in which it gains the confidence of the House of Representatives and works to implement it. He also wants credible commitments from political party leaders that this time they will implement the necessary reforms with a specific timeline and a follow-up mechanism to ensure that promises are kept. To boost the tutelage post, Macron reiterated in Beirut that “his position is constant and does not change, which is to hold on to demands, but without (direct) interference” in Lebanese internal affairs.
Source: Middle East
