Beirut (AFP)

Resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday urged international financial organizations to support an emergency rescue plan for Lebanon, facing an acute economic crisis that has been shaken for weeks by an unprecedented protest movement.

On Wednesday, Lebanon's main international supporters in Paris, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have conditioned any financial support for the establishment of an "effective and credible" government, which will soon initiate reforms. "emergency".

During telephone conversations with World Bank President David Malpass and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, "Mr. Hariri underscored his determination to prepare an emergency bailout package to resolve the crisis. waiting for the formation of a new cabinet capable of implementing it, "according to a statement from his office.

"He discussed the technical support that the World Bank and the IMF could bring to draft this plan," the source said.

Since October 17, Lebanon is facing an unprecedented challenge against the entire political class, deemed corrupt and incompetent.

Mr. Hariri and his government resigned on October 29 under pressure from the street, and have been running since day-to-day affairs amid political deadlock.

Initially set for Monday by the Lebanese presidency, parliamentary consultations to select a new prime minister were postponed for one week on Sunday.

Lebanon's precarious economic and financial situation has further deteriorated in recent weeks, with increasing banking restrictions, a shortage of liquidity and deep fears of a devaluation of the national currency, the Lebanese pound, indexed to the dollar since 1997.

According to his office, Mr. Hariri also discussed with the president of the WB the possibility for this institution "to increase its contribution to finance international trade to Lebanon", to facilitate imports of basic necessities.

The WB predicts a recession in Lebanon in 2019 (-0.2%), in a country where about a third of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the organization.

Thursday, the rating agency Fitch has again lowered the notch of debt Lebanon, from "CCC" to "CC".

According to a statement from the agency, this deterioration reflects the likelihood "of a debt restructuring by the government or a default" of payment, due to "political uncertainty, de facto capital controls and a degraded confidence in the banking sector ".

© 2019 AFP