Lebanon could miss out on aid: France

France yesterday warned Lebanon it could lose the international community’s goodwill and much-needed investments if it takes any longer to form a government.

Lebanon’s economy has looked on the brink of collapse for some time but a Paris conference dubbed CEDRE in April earned it $11bn in aid pledges.

Polls held the following month gave Saad Hariri a new term as prime minister but Lebanon’s fractious political class has since failed to agree on a government line-up. Seven months on, a breakthrough does not seem imminent and French ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher warned that Lebanon stood to lose a lot.

“We deeply regret that our Lebanese friends are not able to agree on a government,” he said during a press conference held on a French frigate making a stop in Beirut.

The amounts pledged in Paris were unexpectedly high and other conferences have also mustered support for Lebanon, whose economy has been in a downward spiral for years due to political divisions and corruption.

The outbreak of violence in neighbouring Syria in 2011 added to those woes, keeping tourists away and triggering a massive influx of refugees that has strained public services.

“The lack of a government in Lebanon means running the risk that this dynamic in the international community is lost,” Foucher said. “That moment could pass.” The French envoy explained that a new government was needed to undertake the programme contained in the CEDRE plan and warned that investors would not wait for forever.