Benjamin Barthe: Hello Adam,
France brought Lebanon’s interests to the international scene in 2018, by organizing the Cedre conference. It was the continuation of the great masses organized in the 1990s and 2000s, to help rebuild the country (Paris I, Paris II, etc.). Eleven billion dollars were pledged to Lebanon on this occasion. But France was badly paid for these efforts. Almost none of the reforms requested in return for this sum have been implemented. So there is a form of annoyance, of weariness at the Quai d’Orsay. The line now, expressed by Jean-Yves Le Drian in a recent speech before the Senate, is “help us help you”. In other words, we will not move, as long as bad habits (procrastination of reforms, procrastination, etc.) do not stop.