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Riot police pushed back protesters who were trying to cross security gates in front of the Place des Martyrs government headquarters in Beirut on September 29, 2019. ANWAR AMRO / AFP

Hundreds of Lebanese gathered on Sunday (September 29th) in downtown Beirut and other parts of the country to shout their anger against the political class they accuse of corruption and squandering public funds.

With our correspondent in Beirut, Paul Khalifeh

This explosion of anger comes against a backdrop of unprecedented economic and financial crisis for more than 25 years.

In response to calls for demonstrations launched on social networks, people of all ages gathered in downtown Beirut, holding placards denouncing the negligence of the authorities and chanting slogans hostile to the political class.

Clashes erupted with the police when groups of demonstrators tried to approach the Grand Serail, the seat of the Prime Minister.

Groups of young people then cut several roads in the city center by setting fire to tires and dumpsters. Protesters, most of whom are not affiliated with any political party, have cut major arteries in several other parts of Lebanon.

► To read also: Poverty, economic crisis and social malaise, Lebanon to the test

The economic crisis has culminated in recent days with a decline in the value of the national currency, a shortage of dollars in a country with a strongly dollarized economy and a gas-station strike.

The authorities seem overwhelmed by the scale of the crisis, whose signals have been visible for months or even years.

Mined by corruption, Lebanon is also under intense pressure from the United States, which is stepping up its measures against the banking sector on the pretext of fighting money from terrorism.

► Also to listen: Donors Conference for Lebanon in Paris