Macron: The next 6 weeks are crucial for Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron returned to Lebanon, a country in unprecedented crisis, on Monday for a two-day visit and a full calendar of events and political talks aimed at charting a way out for the country.

But his first meeting was not with the prime minister appointed hours earlier, nor with the country’s rival politicians or civil society activists. Instead, Macron chose to see Lebanon’s first female singer Fairouz, a patriotic symbol and one of the rare personalities in Lebanon loved and respected across the country, one of the most famous singers in the Arab world, and her voice was considered a band. Lebanon’s sound from its heyday, through its struggles and even the latest shock it witnessed.

The lonely singer, arguably the most famous and respected singer in the Arab world, is now 86 years old and has rarely been seen in public in recent years. But many Lebanese still start their day by listening to her songs and continue to see her as a unifying figure in a country plagued by conflict.

Fairouz, who rarely speaks to the media despite her songs resounding on the radio waves from Rabat to Baghdad, is celebrated on the grounds that she is a national treasure and a symbol of peace that transcends tribal and sectarian divisions in Lebanon and beyond.

After arriving at the Beirut airport on Monday night, Macron went directly to Fayrouz at his home in Rabieh, north of Beirut, away from the media at his request.

Macron awarded Fairouz the highest French medal, the Commandeur’s Legion of Honor, in return Fayrouz thanked him and presented him with a memento, which was said to be a painting, according to the National Information Agency.

Leaving Mrs. Fairouz’s house, Macron told reporters that he “promises that Lebanon will be better than it is and that Mrs. Fairouz is an icon and has a special place in the hearts of the French, and the meeting was exceptional”.

Some activists staged a sit-in in front of Macron as he headed inside and raised banners urging him to reject the appointment of the new prime minister hours ago.

Fayrouz’s songs accompanied the Lebanese during the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990 and still provide them with comfort in difficult times. Her song “For Beirut” or “For Beirut” has repeatedly provided the soundtrack to a grieving nation, most recently after the explosion.

Macron was the first foreign leader to visit Lebanon, two days after the blast, and he walked the devastated streets of Beirut when no Lebanese official did. He promised to return on September 1 to participate in Lebanon’s centennial celebrations.

Immediately after leaving Lebanon several weeks ago, he tweeted: “I love you Lebanon,” the lyrics to a famous song, Fairouz.

Fayrouz, whose real name is Nihad Haddad, is a well-known figure in France. He has performed numerous concerts in the country, including the Olympia concert in 1979, where he sang “Paris, the Flower of Freedom”, and in one of the largest concert halls in Paris, the Bercy Palace, in 1988 year.

In one of his most famous songs, Fayrouz says, “I loved you in the summer !! I loved you so much !!” It is the piece that was presented before Lebanon entered the throes of a civil war that lasted between 1975 and 1990, a period in which Lebanon was still famous for the “Switzerland of the Middle East”, as it attracted celebrities from Hollywood to its restaurants and exquisite beaches.

Fayrouz earned the admiration of other French presidents. President Francois Mitterrand awarded him the title of Commander of Arts and Letters in 1988, and President Jacques Chirac awarded him the Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1998.