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.



Lebanese President Faces Domestic, Foreign Challenges

Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
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Lebanese President Faces Domestic, Foreign Challenges

Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

The election of a new president in Lebanon does not mean the country has come out of the economic and political crises which have gutted it for years. Yet Thursday’s vote marks the beginning of a new phase that carries many challenges for the president and the upcoming government.

It is Joseph Aoun’s responsibility now to appoint a prime minister following binding parliamentary consultations and then form the Cabinet together with the PM.

According to observers, Aoun’s term should carry a roadmap to salvage the country, and a clear plan to address crises and domestic and foreign challenges.

However, there is no magic wand to solve Lebanon’s entire crises.

Instead, Aoun needs a unified working team that should draft a clear ministerial statement that reflects the President’s inaugural speech and his pledge of a “new era” for Lebanon.

“The president's speech constitutes a detailed program for governance. However, his program needs a cabinet capable of implementing it,” former Minister Ibrahim Najjar told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Najjar described the new President as an honest, clean and courageous Lebanese man.

“His election must be followed by the formation of a bold cabinet with new faces, capable of working and making achievements,” he said.

“The Lebanese people expect President Aoun to change the quota-based mentality of politicians. They hope his term will help remove old political figures, who are rooted in the Lebanese quagmire,” the former minister noted.

Former MP Fares Souaid told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun’s first task is to implement the Constitution and the National Accord document.

“In the early 1990s, the Constitution was no longer being implemented due to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. In 2005, the Constitution was again ignored because of Iranian arms.”

Therefore, Soueid said, the Lebanese eagerly expect this new era to constitute a real opportunity for the implementation of both documents.

For years, Lebanon has failed to properly implement its Constitution and UN resolutions, mainly because some political parties had considered their implementation as “a target against their so-called resistance.”

“With the election of President Joseph Aoun, Lebanon has opened a blank page that could meet the aspirations of the Lebanese people, and write a new chapter in the country’s history,” Najjar said.

According to Soueid, Aoun has a task to return Lebanon to its Arab identity. “This is slowly beginning to show through the decline of Iranian influence in the region,” he said.

Also, Soueid said, the new President should mend Lebanon’s relations with the international community by implementing all UN resolutions.

Addressing Parliament and Lebanese people with an acceptance speech, Aoun on Thursday vowed that the Lebanese authorities will have the monopoly on arms and will be committed to a strong state that will extend its sovereignty over the entire territory.

“This is in line with UN resolutions, which if implemented, will bring Lebanon back to the Arab and international scene,” Soueid said.