Emmanuel Macron, August 6, 2020 in devastated Beirut. - AFP

"Indecency", "interference" ... On social networks and in the political class, criticisms are heard on the visit of Emmanuel Macron to Beirut in Lebanon. The French president brushed aside these criticisms on Thursday, saying he was acting in the name of "friendship" between the two countries.

"I am not giving a diktat to the leaders," declared the Head of State, in an interview with BFMTV on the occasion of his visit to Beirut, but "the next three weeks are decisive in the future of Lebanon ”. "France would be making a mistake if it took the place of political power," said the head of state, and "I cannot take the place of the leaders." "But, as President of the French Republic, I will not be at the rendezvous of our history, that of a friendly people (...) if we weren't here today to respond to the emergency humanitarian aid and help build a political solution, ”he continued.

" One man show "

Part of the political class rose up after these remarks. The rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon warned “against interference in the political life of Lebanon”, while the vice-president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, considered that “the arrogant and moralizing one-man show which delivered Emmanuel Macron, today in Beirut, is indecent ”.

Emmanuel Macron refuted any interference, and considered that France's action is "friendship, help, requirement but not (of) interference". "If France does not play its role (...), the interference will be that of other powers: it will be Iranian, it will be Turkish, it will be Saudi, it will be heaps of other powers in the region", insisted the French head of state.

A return in September

After the violent explosions Tuesday evening that caused the death of more than a hundred people and injured 5,000 others, the French president had previously announced new humanitarian aid for the victims and asked the Lebanese leaders to implement reforms to redress a country in the grip of a political, social, economic and financial crisis for several months.

He wished for “a dialogue of truth” with the authorities and recalled that France has been “demanding (…) for months, not to say years of essential reforms” in “certain sectors” of the country. "If these reforms are not made, Lebanon will continue to sink," warned Emmanuel Macron, who announced to return to the country of the Cedar in September.

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