Macron offers Lebanon’s elite a carrot and a deadline

 

Macron offers Lebanon’s elite a carrot and a deadline

 

The French president hopes that the shock of the blast that devastated Beirut on Tuesday can be harnessed to achieve real change.

 

By RYM MOMTAZ 8/6/20, 2:59 PM CET Updated 8/6/20, 8:33 PM CET

French President Emmanuel Macron | Thibault Camus/AFP via Getty Images

https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-delivers-ultimatum-to-lebanons-elite/

 

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Emmanuel Macron traveled to the devastated city of Beirut offering a carrot — and setting a deadline.

 

The French president gave Lebanon’s leaders until the end of the month to begin a reset of the political system and replace the rampant corruption and poor governance that dogged the country even before the catastrophic explosion that rocked the city on Tuesday.

 

With an eye for symbolism, Macron delivered the message to the leaders of Lebanon’s political parties at the stately mansion in Beirut that serves as the official residence of the French ambassador. The building did not escape damage from the blast, with some of its windows blown out. This was the place a century ago on September 1 — the deadline for a political revamp set by the French president — where Greater Lebanon, the precursor to the modern state, was formally declared.

 

Some of the leaders who had not known what to expect from the meeting left visibly unhappy.

 

Macron also announced he will organize an international aid conference in the coming days to raise funds for emergency relief but, in a noteworthy departure from previous such conferences, he said the aid would go directly to NGOs and the people who need it, implying it would circumvent the government, in order to avoid corruption.

 

Macron spent around an hour inspecting the damaged area, more akin to a war zone than the bustling economic hub the port used to be.

 

“It’s time for responsibility in Lebanon,” Macron said at a press conference at the end of his visit. “We raised funds in the past, but we can only do it if the Lebanese authorities take their responsibilities to allow us to fully help Lebanon.” Any consequences for not meeting the September deadline were not, however, spelled out by the French leader.

 

The stern message came during a visit to the stricken city Thursday. On his way out of the airport, he told reporters that without significant reforms to the way the country is run, Lebanon will “continue to sink.”

 

After landing at around noon, he was briefly greeted by Lebanese President Michel Aoun before heading to the port to inspect the devastation. Perhaps fearful of the reaction from people there, Aoun did not accompany the French president.

 

Macron spent around an hour inspecting the damaged area, more akin to a war zone than the bustling economic hub the port used to be. There was corn strewn across the rubble, blown out of the silos that used to house it. Stacks of coloring books and children’s books spilled out from a disemboweled steel container.

 

He met first responders and marines who have been fishing bodies out of the sea that had been propelled there by the blast. “What do you need?” Macron asked one police officer. “Is it more divers? We need to send more divers,” the president said to an aide.

 

Then he headed to the nearby Gemmayze district, the former hot spot for Lebanese nightlife. When the convoy entered the street, a crowd began to gather. Thinking it was Aoun they started hurling insults. “Where were you yesterday [the day after the explosion]?” one woman shouted.

 

But once people realized it was the French leader, the mood changed. Enjoying an exuberant response that he is less accustomed to in Paris, many implored Macron to save them from their own rulers. “Save us!” “You are our only hope!” “Long live France” various people in the crowd yelled.

 

Macron walked over shattered glass littering the street, past blown-out windows and storefronts. With every step, more people gathered. It took more than 45 minutes to walk through the street, much longer than planned. “I’m here today and I want to suggest to them [Lebanon’s leaders] a new political pact. If they don’t deliver, I will take my responsibilities,” he told the crowd.

 

Corrupt elite

Lebanon is facing a triple political, social and health crisis in addition to the devastation from the blast that destroyed the country’s main economic hub. In a request that pre-dates the disaster, it is asking the international community for up to $10 billion in aid.

 

But despite the offers of emergency help in recent days — on Thursday the EU urged member governments to "intensify your support" via a coordinated mechanism — international donors are wary about pouring money into the pockets of a corrupt elite. Lebanon’s political and financial authorities have failed to provide reliable accounting for the country’s finances, and have failed to implement credible governance reforms.

 

Macron once again called on them to do so. “There is a need to have an audit on the financial sector and the central bank. If we want to raise international funds, no one will participate unless we know how much is missing [from the state coffers],” Macron said at the press conference. “A lot was stolen, for sure.”

 

France has organized multiple similar conferences — like the one that will happen by videoconference on Sunday — to save Lebanon from bankruptcy and political deadlock in the past without them achieving significant reforms.

 

Macron hopes that the horror and shock of the explosion can this time be harnessed to deliver real change.