Show solidarity while showing impatience. This is the crest line that French diplomacy strives to follow vis-à-vis Lebanon. Paris wants to be both the faithful ally and the intractable creditor. Honor its historic friendship for the country of the Cedars, at a time when it is going through the most serious economic crisis of its existence, and put pressure on the local authorities, so that they do not evade the reforms that they have been promising for years. In the eyes of France, this is the only way to restore the confidence of international donors and to foresee a way out of the crisis.
Wednesday July 8, before the Senate, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, indulged in this great diplomatic gap. “Today there is a risk of collapse, said the head of the Quai d’Orsay. The Lebanese authorities need to pull themselves together, and let me say here to our Lebanese friends: we are really ready to help you, but help us to help you, damn it! “ In the wake of this semi-rant, Mr. Le Drian announced that he would go to Beirut ” in a few days “. According to his Lebanese counterpart, Nassif Hitti, the visit could take place in the middle of next week, which the embassy does not confirm.
Assistance to French-speaking private schools
While waiting for this trip, the French ambassador, Bruno Foucher, is stepping up to speak. In response to the Lebanese who say they are abandoned in the midst of a storm, he announced a large-scale aid for educational establishments in French. Pillars of the Lebanese education system, these private schools are particularly shaken by the depreciation of the pound against the dollar and the resulting collapse in the purchasing power of the population.
The most important aspect of the French initiative is the granting of an envelope of several million euros to the families of children attending school in around forty Christian establishments, known as “approved”, with the aim of facilitating re-enrollment. of their offspring, at the start of September. The Agency for French Education Abroad should also provide these schools with loans at almost zero rates, to enable them to absorb the losses of the past year. France also maintains its cooperation programs in the fields of health, justice and defense.
On the other hand, the 11 billion dollars (9.6 billion euros) of the Economic Conference for the Development of Lebanon through Reforms and with Businesses (Cedre), the Lebanon Donors’ Forum organized in Paris in 2018, remains suspended from the signing of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, currently deadlocked. This windfall, supposed to finance a series of large infrastructure projects, will not be released without a green light from the international institution, guaranteeing the implementation of reforms, in particular the strengthening of regulatory mechanisms in the electricity sector. .
You have 27.17% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
