Macron Urges Lebanon to ‘Get Rid’ of Leaders Blocking Reforms

French President Emmanuel Macron visits the archaeological site of Jerash, on December 21, 2022. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the archaeological site of Jerash, on December 21, 2022. (AFP)
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Macron Urges Lebanon to ‘Get Rid’ of Leaders Blocking Reforms

French President Emmanuel Macron visits the archaeological site of Jerash, on December 21, 2022. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the archaeological site of Jerash, on December 21, 2022. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Lebanon Friday to "get rid" of its political leadership who have for months blocked reforms vital to save its stricken economy.

"The problem with Lebanon is that we must solve people's problems and get rid of those who cannot do it," Macron said, referring to the country's entrenched political class -- widely blamed for the country's financial collapse since late 2019.

"Lebanon must change its leadership," he said in an interview with three media outlets including Lebanon's Annahar newspaper.

Macron has taken the lead in international efforts to bail out the Lebanese economy after a collapse in the value of the Lebanese pound plunged most of the population into poverty.

International lenders have demanded that Lebanon adopt a program of painful economic reforms in return for releasing billions of dollars in bailout loans.

But deadlock between opposing alliances of the confessional political parties that have dominated Lebanon since the 1975 to 1990 war have left the country with only a caretaker government since an inconclusive May election and a vacant presidency since last month.

"The question is: this caste that lives off Lebanon, does it have the courage to change?" Macron asked, adding that he was dismayed to see the mass emigration of young Lebanese who had taken to the streets at the start of the crisis in late 2019 to demand political and economic reform.

"My answer is to try to help bring a political alternative to life... and to be intractable with political forces.

"I care about Lebanese men and women, not those living off their backs," he said.

Macron said the priority now was to have "honest" people as president and as prime minster capable of moving swiftly to restructure Lebanon's failed financial system.

Parliament has convened 10 times over the past two months in a bid to elect a replacement for Michel Aoun, whose mandate as president expired at the end of October.

But it is split between supporters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and its opponents, neither of whom have a clear majority.

Macron would not be drawn on whether he supported army chief Joseph Aoun as a consensus choice for president.

"I don't want to discuss names. If there isn't a plan and a strategy behind the name, they won't succeed," he said.

Macron, who was speaking on his flight home from a regional summit on Iraq in Jordan, said he would work to organize a conference with a "similar format" for Lebanon in the coming weeks.

He said he was "convinced" that problems in the Middle East can only be resolved "if we find a framework for discussion that includes Iran, given its influence in the region".



At Least 25 People Killed by Israeli Gunshots and Strikes in Gaza, Some While Seeking Aid

26 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Relatives of Palestinians who lost their lives mourn in Al-Shifa Hospital after an Israeli bombing at buildings sheltering displaced people in Gaza city. (dpa)
26 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Relatives of Palestinians who lost their lives mourn in Al-Shifa Hospital after an Israeli bombing at buildings sheltering displaced people in Gaza city. (dpa)
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At Least 25 People Killed by Israeli Gunshots and Strikes in Gaza, Some While Seeking Aid

26 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Relatives of Palestinians who lost their lives mourn in Al-Shifa Hospital after an Israeli bombing at buildings sheltering displaced people in Gaza city. (dpa)
26 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Relatives of Palestinians who lost their lives mourn in Al-Shifa Hospital after an Israeli bombing at buildings sheltering displaced people in Gaza city. (dpa)

At least 25 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight, according to health officials and the ambulance service on Saturday, as ceasefire talks appear to have stalled and Palestinians in Gaza face famine.

The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought.

Israel's army didn’t respond to request for comments about the latest shootings.

Those killed in strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said.

The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the USand Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas. His comments came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic.

Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the United States, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when.

For desperate Palestinians a ceasefire can't come soon enough.

The United Nations and experts say that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition.

While Israel’s army says it’s allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter, the UN says it is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting.

The Zikim crossing shootings come days after at least 79 Palestinians were killed trying to reach aid entering through the same crossing. Israel's military said at the time its soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians who posed a threat, and that it was aware of some casualties.

Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticizing Israel’s blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out.

The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food

For the first time in months Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by Jordan. A Jordanian official said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in a newspaper article on Saturday that the UK was “working urgently” with Jordan to get British aid into Gaza.

Aid group the World Central Kitchen said on Friday that it was resuming limited cooking operations in Deir al-Balah after being forced to halt due to a lack of food supplies.

It said it's trying to serve 60,000 meals daily through its field kitchen and partner community kitchens, less than half of what it's cooked over the previous month.