Macron Returns to Beirut amid Disappointment at Lebanon’s Handling of Beirut Blast Crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron listens to a resident as he visits a devastated street of Beirut, Lebanon August 6, 2020. Thibault Camus/Pool via REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron listens to a resident as he visits a devastated street of Beirut, Lebanon August 6, 2020. Thibault Camus/Pool via REUTERS
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Macron Returns to Beirut amid Disappointment at Lebanon’s Handling of Beirut Blast Crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron listens to a resident as he visits a devastated street of Beirut, Lebanon August 6, 2020. Thibault Camus/Pool via REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron listens to a resident as he visits a devastated street of Beirut, Lebanon August 6, 2020. Thibault Camus/Pool via REUTERS

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to arrive in Beirut on Monday to participate the next day in a ceremony commemorating the first centenary of the declaration of Greater Lebanon, sources at the Elysee Palace told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He will then hold talks with officials and politicians on reconstruction efforts in the wake of the massive explosion at the Beirut Port and the political situation in the country.

The sources expressed disappointment at the Lebanese authorities’ handling of the repercussions of the Beirut tragedy on the one hand, and their failure to address the multi-faceted crisis that has been lingering for months.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday that the repercussions of the explosion that hit Lebanon on Aug. 4 should not be used as an excuse to disregard the country’s political and economic crisis.

“The catastrophe should not be used as a pretext to obscure the reality that existed before... that is, a country on the brink of collapse,” Le Drian told reporters in the southern port city of Marseille before a ship with 2,500 tons of aid set sail for the Lebanese capital.

“We hope that this moment will be the moment which allows the Lebanese authorities, the Lebanese officials, to take the necessary leap for a government with a mission to launch the essential and needed reforms,” he added.

French sources monitoring the Lebanese situation stated that it was “necessary” for Macron to succeed in achieving “some breakthrough.”

Following former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s announcement that he was unwilling to return to the Grand Serail, the focus, according to these sources, should be on “a government of specialists with specific tasks to rebuild what was destroyed, address the humanitarian situation, and conduct reforms with a focus on the economic, financial and social situations.”

However, the dilemma lies in the fact that all decisions in Lebanon are politicized and that the main political parties are still clinging to their positions and their interests.

In the first stage, Paris has focused on humanitarian relief through the virtual conference it organized on Aug. 9, which brought about aid worth 250 million euros. However, what is required today is to achieve breakthroughs that go beyond humanitarian assistance, requiring the presence of a government able to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund, which is the only gateway to improving the financial and economic situation.



Israeli Strike Kills 26 People in Gaza City House

Water is distributed at the Islamic University in Gaza City, which now serves as a shelter for displaced Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Water is distributed at the Islamic University in Gaza City, which now serves as a shelter for displaced Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Israeli Strike Kills 26 People in Gaza City House

Water is distributed at the Islamic University in Gaza City, which now serves as a shelter for displaced Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Water is distributed at the Islamic University in Gaza City, which now serves as a shelter for displaced Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 26 Palestinians, including children, in a house in Shejaia in Gaza City, local health authorities said on Wednesday.
Medics said dozens of others were wounded in the attack that hit a multi-floor residential building in the eastern suburb of Gaza City. They said many were still believed to be missing and trapped under the ruins of the building. The strike damaged several other houses nearby, medics said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army, Reuters reported.
Last week, the military ordered Shejaia residents to evacuate, saying forces intended to operate against militants in the area.
Israel last month resumed its bombardment of Gaza after a two-month truce and sent troops back into the enclave. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli military strikes have killed at least 1,400 people since March 18, when Israel renewed the attacks.
The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad shortly afterwards resumed firing rockets into Israeli territory.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame over the stalemate in the ceasefire talks. Arab mediators, Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have stepped up efforts to restore calm but have so far failed to bridge the gap between the warring parties.