French leader warns Lebanese politicians
BEIRUT » French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stern warning to members of Lebanon’s political class Tuesday, urging them to commit to serious reforms within a few months or risk punitive action, including sanctions, if they fail to deliver.
In downtown Beirut, security forces fired volleys of tear gas to disperse dozens of protesters attempting to break through police barricades.
Macron was on a twoday visit to Lebanon, marking the country’s centenary and holding talks with officials on ways to help extract it from its unprecedented economic crisis and the aftermath of last month’s massive blast that ripped through the capital Beirut.
“I’m here ... to get results and bring about reforms,” he said Tuesday.
The visit was Macron’s second since the devastating Aug. 4 explosion, the most destructive single incident in Lebanon’s history, that killed at lest 190 people and injured more than 6,000. This time, Macron’s visit, packed with events and political talks aimed at charting a way out of the crisis, comes as Lebanon marks its 100th anniversary.
Speaking to media company Politico en route from Paris to Lebanon on Monday evening, Macron said he wants credible commitments from political party leaders on reforms, including a concrete timetable for change and parliamentary elections within “six to 12 months.”
The next three months will be “fundamental” for real change to happen, and if it doesn’t, Macron said he would take a different tack, imposing punitive measures ranging from withholding a vital international financial bailout to imposing sanctions against the ruling class.
“It’s the last chance for this system,” he said. independence in 1943.
French warplanes flew in formation, spraying smoke the colors of the Lebanese flag over the Jaj forest in the Byblos region.
During the planting ceremony, Macron hugged Tamara Tayah, an 11-year-old victim of Beirut’s port blast, whose mother, Hala Tayah was killed in the explosion.
From the forest, Macron went to the Port of Beirut where nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrates stored there for six years exploded Aug. 4, killing 190 people, injuring more than 6,000, and damaging entire neighborhoods.
Macron repeatedly spoke of the need for change. Asked about the new prime minister-designate appointed Monday, he said it was a “first step” but added he has to be given all the means to succeed.
Macron also visited a hospital in Beirut and spoke to victims of the Aug. 4 blast. He was applauded inside the hospital when he arrived and a young woman offered him a bouquet of flowers.