Jumblatt Says Aoun is Irrational Ruler Who Wants to Commit Suicide

 FILE PHOTO: PSP leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: PSP leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo
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Jumblatt Says Aoun is Irrational Ruler Who Wants to Commit Suicide

 FILE PHOTO: PSP leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: PSP leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo

Head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt described Lebanese President Michel Aoun as an "irrational ruler who wants to commit suicide.”

"Let him commit suicide alone, along with his dear son-in-law,” Jumblatt said in a TV statement, in reference to former Minister and MP Gebran Bassil.

His remarks came on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“Despite the severity of the circumstance, we must derive strength from the occasion. We have continued to some extent, and others must continue in the country of universities, diversity and civilized coexistence,” he noted.

Jumblatt further underlined the need for “a new political formula, as we cannot continue with the old one.”

“Today there is a destructive ruler and an absurd rule.”

Touching on the obstacles hindering the formation of a new government, he told Future TV that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri devised a formula that suits all components but rejected to grant the “vetoing third” to the president.

“Enough with this vetoing-third that impeded the country for 15 years!” Jumblatt added.

The PSP leader emphasized the need for “a constitutional way to resolve the current impasse.”

He reminded that French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need to implement reforms in exchange for help from the international community.

“We missed the opportunity,” Jumblatt said.



Air France Says Will Resume Flights to Beirut Saturday

 People watch the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, at a waterfront promenade in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP)
People watch the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, at a waterfront promenade in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP)
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Air France Says Will Resume Flights to Beirut Saturday

 People watch the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, at a waterfront promenade in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP)
People watch the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, at a waterfront promenade in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP)

Air France will resume service to Beirut this Saturday, initially with five weekly flights, the airline announced.

Transavia, the low cost subsidiary of the Air France-KLM group, will resume its flights to the Lebanese capital on February 13, starting with three flights a week, it said.

Both airlines had ceased serving Beirut in September as tensions rose in the region.