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The French Foreign Minister warns of a “danger threatening Lebanon” in light of the “Lebanese denial of its reality”, as he put it, about a week before President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beirut.
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French Chancellor: The Lebanese deny it completely and are drowning
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the political and economic collapse in Lebanon “resembles the sinking of the Titanic”, but without music, months after he spoke about “the danger of the disappearance of the Lebanon”.
Le Drian added in an interview published Sunday by the newspaper “Le Figaro” that “Lebanon is the Titanic without an orchestra … The Lebanese are in complete denial and are drowning, and there is no music,” as he himself put it.
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.
This will be Macron’s third visit since a massive explosion in the Beirut port, which destroyed vast areas of the city and killed 200 people last August.
During his previous visit to Macron, he warned that the Lebanese parties avoid their commitment to the French initiative, saying: “If the Lebanese authorities do not fulfill their promises by the end of October, there will be consequences”, but none of this happened.
Macron said a few days ago, during an international conference to support Lebanon, that the deterioration of the financial situation means that Lebanon “will face more problems”, criticizing the lack of implementation “of the measures required in the French roadmap for Lebanon. nor with respect to the audit of the Bank of Lebanon accounts. “
It is noteworthy that after the port explosion, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced the resignation of his government, saying that the corruption system is greater than the state.
The formation of a new government has so far stalled, despite the fact that almost two months have passed since Prime Minister Saad Hariri was appointed.
Hariri’s assignment was preceded by the assignment of Mustafa Adeeb, who apologized for his mission in forming the government, while Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that “there are those who stifled the French initiative in contravention of all established principles. “.
An official source told Reuters last October that Lebanon had around $ 1.8 billion in its foreign exchange reserves that could be available to support imports of staple foods and other imports, but could preserve its survival for another 6 months by canceling some. subsidies. Goods.
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