Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday sought to raise more than $350 million in aid for Lebanon at a donors’ conference marking the anniversary of the Beirut port blast, and send yet another warning to its squabbling political class.
One year since an explosion ripped through the capital’s port and plunged Lebanon further into economic crisis, its politicians have yet to form a government capable of rebuilding the country, despite French and international pressure.
Since the situation continues to deteriorate, the need for a government is becoming more and more urgent, an adviser to Macron told reporters.
France has led international efforts to lift its former colony out of crisis. Macron has visited Beirut twice since the port blast, raised emergency aid and imposed travel bans on some se