The French ro-ro ship Calao docked in Beirut on Monday, carrying 1,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid and construction materials to help Lebanon, which was damaged by a gigantic explosion in the capital's port on August 4.
This aid is in addition to that which arrived last Friday on board the French helicopter carrier Le Tonnerre .
The massive blue and white merchant ship Calao , chartered by the French army, brought flour, wheat, medicines, but also glass, bulldozers and backhoe loaders to help with the clearing work, told reporters an official from the French Embassy in Lebanon.
Florence Parly demands that French aid be distributed "transparently"
This aid will be "directly distributed to carefully chosen Lebanese NGOs", she added, specifying however that the operation was carried out in cooperation with the Lebanese army.
A fire caused a strong explosion on August 4 in a warehouse in the port of Beirut where a huge amount of ammonium nitrate had been stored. The explosion, which nearly razed the port and devastated entire neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital, killed at least 177 people and injured more than 6,500 others.
Visiting Beirut last Friday, the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, demanded that French aid be distributed "transparently".
Macron urges authorities to initiate structural reforms
President Emmanuel Macron, traveling to the Lebanese capital after the tragedy, had already promised immediate aid to the Lebanese and urged the authorities to initiate structural reforms to be able to benefit from crucial international funding for a revival of the economy, in full collapse for many months.
During an international conference co-organized by France and the UN on August 9, more than 250 million euros were raised to help the Lebanese and civil society after the explosion.
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