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France said Wednesday that it is “not too late” to form a new Lebanese government to save the country from its suffocating economic crisis, after Lebanese politicians missed a date this week they had promised to form a I rule with him.
A French presidential official told Reuters that France “regrets the failure of Lebanese politicians to form a government,” two weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron set a September 15 deadline for that, explaining it’s not too late.
“France regrets the failure of Lebanese political leaders to fulfill the promises they made to President Macron on September 1, 2020, according to the announced deadline,” said the official, whose name was not released by Reuters.
He added: “It is not too late for everyone to shoulder their responsibilities and ultimately act only in the interest of Lebanon, giving Mustafa Adeeb the opportunity to form a government that adapts to the gravity of the situation.”
Macron has led international efforts to save the country and has visited Lebanon twice, since a terrible explosion occurred in the port of Beirut on August 4, causing widespread devastation in the city and exacerbating the country’s problems.
But rival factions have not fulfilled their commitment to Macron to form a government of specialists, in mid-September, to initiate reforms requested by donors to disburse aid.
Adeeb seeks to form a government to begin implementing the French roadmap. Sources said he sought to change control of the ministries, many of which have been in the hands of the same factions for years.
However, the main Shiite and Christian parties of Lebanon’s current sectarian quota system complained that Adeeb, who is Sunni, does not consult them.
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said on Twitter on Wednesday: “It seems that some people have not understood or do not want to understand that the French initiative is the last chance to save Lebanon and prevent its disappearance, as its foreign minister clearly stated.”
Jumblatt was referring to statements by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who said last month that Lebanon could disappear if the necessary reforms were not implemented.
France’s roadmap marks the path for the new government, from resuming talks with the International Monetary Fund to repairing the country’s weakened electricity system.
But the plan failed at the first hurdle, as the political elite, who held the reins for years witnessing rampant corruption in the state apparatus, argued over how to form the government.
The most prominent objections came from the Shiite politician, Nabih Berri, Speaker of Parliament and ally of the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah, and insists on nominating the Finance Minister, a position he has decided since 2014.
Sources say Hezbollah supports Berri’s position and that it told President Michel Aoun on Tuesday that the Shiite parties must agree with the Shiite ministers and that the finance minister must be a Shiite.
Sunni politician Saad Hariri, a former prime minister whose support was crucial to Adeeb’s candidacy, said the Finance Ministry and other ministerial portfolios are not the exclusive right of any sect.
Hariri said on Twitter that rejecting the idea of a rotating check on ministries thwarted “the last chance to save Lebanon and the Lebanese,” referring to the French initiative.
