[ad_1]
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the political and economic collapse in Lebanon resembles the sinking of the “Titanic”, but without music.
“Lebanon is a Titanic without the orchestra … The Lebanese are in complete denial and they are drowning, and there is not even music,” Le Drian added in an interview published today by Le Figaro newspaper.
Le Drian’s comments raised a pessimistic tone ahead of a visit planned in just over a week by French President Emmanuel Macron to Beirut. It will be Macron’s third visit since a massive explosion at a port destroyed vast areas of the city and killed 200 people in August.
Macron is running out of patience with rival Lebanese politicians as their disputes over influence remain an obstacle to comprehensive reforms that donors say are necessary before sending much-needed planned financial aid to the country.
The Titanic Orchestra is believed to have continued to play for as long as possible until the ship sank in the Atlantic in 1912, in an effort to help the passengers calm down amid impending doom that ultimately claimed everyone’s lives. the musicians.
Macron’s proposed plan, weeks after the port explosion, to carry out political and economic reforms in Lebanon, is hampered by the conflicting interests of the country’s main political forces. The basis of competition and lack of party affiliation.
However, President Aoun returned the ball to Hariri’s court and handed him an integrated government proposal that includes a portfolio distribution based on clear principles, according to the presidential statement.
International donor institutions say that implementing a series of urgent reforms is a condition for providing financial support to Lebanon, which has been living for years in a political and economic crisis, exacerbated by the explosion in Beirut. The formation of a new Lebanese government capable of implementing the internationally required reforms is one of the conditions for donors, in addition to carrying out a comprehensive audit of the Lebanese banking system and other reforms.
[ad_2]
