Lebanon: aboard the "Tonnerre", the French Minister of the Armed Forces welcomes humanitarian aid

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The Tonnerre amphibious helicopter carrier arrived in Beirut this Friday morning. It is one of the centerpieces of this aid mission for the French armies called “Friendship”. In the holds of Tonnerre: 1,000 tonnes of humanitarian and logistical aid. The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, welcomed the ship in the port.

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With our special envoys in Beirut,  Pierre Olivier and Julien Boileau

For nearly an hour, aboard the Tonnerre Florence Parly inspects all the material aid intended for the Lebanese. Like those big clearance vehicles.

"  So, in total how many machines of this type have you embarked? », Asks the minister. "  So aboard the Tonnerre, we brought six  ", specifies the captain.

But before unloading the material, priority is given to humanitarian aid. Since the arrival of Tonnerre this Friday morning, the unloading of its holds has been timed, as captain Etienne explains.

“  Before daybreak, the boat presented itself in front of the passes of the port of Beirut, at 6.30 am the hawsers were placed at the quay and I think that around 9.00 am, the first pallets of humanitarian freight were placed on the quay. "

At the quay, medicines and foodstuffs are unloaded.

“  There are a number of food items that were donated by French organizations, so in particular a federation of French millers who donated 500 tonnes of flour,” continues the captain. It's not just flour, it's also rice. That makes two concrete examples that I can give you of food that is given  ”

► Read also: Beirut: the Lebanese diaspora in France is mobilizing to provide assistance

As requested by the Lebanese who fear that the political power will appropriate these commodities, Minister Florence Parly assures that this aid will be distributed directly to those in need.

“  International aid must reach everyone in an efficient and transparent manner  ,” she said.

As of this Saturday, the first distributions should be organized by the Lebanese army, in conjunction with local NGOs.

► See also: Lebanon: the international community agrees on aid of more than 250 million euros

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• France
• Defense
• Lebanon
• Humanitarian

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