For the fifth day in a row, Lebanon's Martyrs Square is full of protesters. "Thieves! "They shout to the politicians. And "Revolution!"
- People from all groups are here, Christians, Sunni, Shia and Druses. That's the best thing about the protests, says student Pierre Rizk.
Lebanon has one of the world's heaviest government debts and the country is on the brink of bankruptcy. Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri had given himself a 72-hour deadline for the government to vote on a reform package. The deadline expired now on Monday night.
But the reforms that the government voted in favor of, among other things, that the salaries of ministers and MPs are halved and that the banks are to contribute the equivalent of SEK 33 billion to the state budget, does not seem to impress the protesters.
"This is not enough"- People are poor. Schools and medical services do not work. There is nothing, says Pierre Rizk.
In his speech, the prime minister also said he is open for re-election.
But Heba Shamas believes the protests will continue.
- We need a new government and all politicians go.
Isn't a new election enough?
- It is enough if we get economic reforms. If we get water and electricity. There are many things that need to be done. This is not enough, she says.