Two years ago, the Lebanese capital was disfigured by the explosions of a warehouse housing hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate at the port. Only a few days after the event, Emmanuel Macron went there “to show France’s solidarity” and promise “support for reconstruction”. While many demonstrations are planned this Thursday by the relatives of the more than 200 dead and 6,500 injured, the French president granted an interview to L’Orient-Le Jour, where he asks in particular “the resumption in complete independence” of the investigation suspended for several months.
Evoking his memories of the event, Emmanuel Macron confides that “there are moments that we do not forget in the life of a President of the Republic. This moment will remain one. He explains that he has “devoted and continues to dedicate a lot of energy to Lebanon”, whether in immediate support after the explosion or in support for the past two years. Faced with the criticisms of which he is the object, the Head of State says “know and understand the impatience and the frustrations. But we mustn’t get the wrong target by always questioning France on what it does, doesn’t do, or doesn’t do enough. »
“France has led to an exceptional and unprecedented international mobilization to avoid the brutal institutional, financial, economic, social and cultural collapse of the country”, underlines the president. Who also recalls that this must be accompanied by “reforms to rebuild on sound foundations” and is the “responsibility of all Lebanese political leaders”.
A necessary investigation for the Lebanese
But Lebanon’s ruling class, accused of mismanagement, corruption and blatant neglect, continues to cling to power as the population suffers from shortages of fuel, medicine and drinking water. “This ruling class kills us every day,” this Lebanese woman told AFP. “Those who did not die in the explosion are starving,” she said. Bakeries ration bread, power cuts can last up to 23 hours a day, streets are dark at night and traffic lights are out of order.
On Wednesday, independent UN and NGO experts called for an international investigation to be launched “without delay”, stressing that it was “clearer today than ever that the national inquiry cannot deliver justice”. . The main investigator, Tarek Bitar, is prevented from pursuing his mission by a series of lawsuits brought against him and a campaign led in particular by the powerful armed movement of Hezbollah, a heavyweight in local political life.
In this interview, Emmanuel Macron recalls having proposed such an investigation in 2020 but that “the Lebanese authorities have decided to open a national investigation” with the support of other countries. If the president has “respected this sovereign choice”, he now calls for “the investigation to be resumed and completed independently” to allow the Lebanese to “mourn and rebuild”.