France's Macron says he plans Lebanon visit to break political stalemate

Macron has been spearheading international efforts to rescue Lebanon, once a French protectorate, from its financial meltdown - its deepest crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

30 January, 2021

Macron said the road map France has put forward was the only way out [Getty]

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that his country's efforts to help Lebanon out of its crisis will continue as he announced plans to make a third visit there, a Saudi-owned channel reported.

Speaking at a media round table, Macron said the road map France has put forward was the only way out for Lebanon, and that he would do all he could to assist the formation of a government, according to Al Arabiya.

A new government is the first step on a French roadmap that envisages a cabinet that would take steps to tackle endemic corruption and implement reforms needed to trigger billions of dollars of international aid to fix the economy, which has been crushed by a mountain of debt.

Macron has been leading an international push for long-overdue reforms and collecting aid for the crisis-ridden country.

He has travelled twice to Beirut since a huge explosion at the port in August devastated swathes of the capital, but no progress has been made to form a credible interim government yet.

A planned Beirut trip by Macron was cancelled in December after he contracted Covid-19 and went into self-isolation. At the time, many Lebanese were betting on his visit to produce a political breakthrough.

Read also: Amnesty slams France over ‘shameful’ use of weapons against Lebanon protesters

Since 2019, Lebanon has grappled with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

More than half the population now lives below the poverty line, according to the United Nations, while the Lebanese pound has lost more than 80 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market.

An August 4 explosion at Beirut port piled new misery onto an already desperate situation. The country's worst peace-time tragedy killed more than 200 people and ravaged entire swathes of the capital, costing the government billions of dollars in blast damages.

Authorities opened an investigation into the blast but its slow progress has added to widespread public anger against political leaders widely blamed for the disaster.

Outgoing premier Hassan Diab, who resigned in the aftermath of the explosion, said it was caused by a highly explosive shipment of ammonium nitrate fertiliser left to languish for years in the port.

Nearly six months on, political leaders have yet to form a new government despite international pressure.

Foreign donors have pressed for a government committed to long-awaited reforms, including restructuring of the national debt.

Lebanon defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time last year and bailout talks with the IMF hit a wall just months later.

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