The new fall of the Lebanese pound sparks the anger of the population
Blockage of a highway leading to Beirut International Airport, Tuesday March 2, 2021. AP - Hussein Malla
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In Lebanon, demonstrators cut roads in different parts of the country to protest against the free fall of the Lebanese pound which reached a new record low amid an unprecedented economic crisis.
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From our correspondent in Beirut
,
Paul Khalifeh
From North to South via Beirut and the eastern plain of the Bekaa, hundreds of people let their anger explode after a new plunge of the Lebanese pound against the dollar on Tuesday, March 2.
Protesters cut roads with flaming tires, dumpsters or concrete blocks to protest erosion of purchasing power and soaring prices due to the depreciation of the pound.
The protest movement spared no region of the country and the demonstrators belonged to all communities, proof of a general fed up, which goes beyond traditional political divisions.
In the Bekaa plain, the angry crowd forced the exchange offices, where the dollar was trading at 10,000 pounds, to close.
Faced with the anger of the population, the army and the security forces avoided any confrontation, contenting themselves with observing from a distance and opening a few roads.
Rising popular anger coincides with renewed political tensions and worsening disputes between traditional parties.
Parties that still fail to form a government six months after the resignation of Prime Minister Hassane Diab less than a week after
the devastating double explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020
.
► See also:
Lebanon: the price of bread increases for the fourth time in six months
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Lebanon
Economic crisis