Away from a rival political group over everything, French President Emmanuel Macron chose to start his visit to Lebanon by meeting with a national symbol whose name the Lebanese meet and do not disperse, and Fayrouz embodies it.
The Elysee Palace included the name of the Lebanese artist at the top of the French President's program during his second visit to Beirut in less than a month.
Macron wrote on his show the phrase "A date over a cup of coffee with Fayrouz in Antelias on Monday evening."
Macron will return to Lebanon on Monday, and on his agenda is a program crowded with political meetings, in an attempt to extricate the country from the political impasse that prevents the formation of an "important government" that the Elysee had presented in a paper distributed to Lebanese politicians.
It is noteworthy that Hassan Diab's government submitted its resignation earlier this month, following the port explosion that killed at least 180 people, destroyed entire neighborhoods, displaced 250,000 people, demolished businesses and knocked out basic grain supplies.
The French president concluded a visit to Beirut on the seventh of August, and wrote on Twitter the phrase "I love you, Lebanon," which is the title of a famous song by Fayrouz that accompanied the Lebanese during the 15 years of the civil war.
Upon his arrival tomorrow evening, Macron will visit the Lebanese artist at her home, in Rabieh, near Antelias (north of Beirut), away from the media lenses.
Fayrouz, France,
and Fayrouz have strong friendship with the French state, which was strengthened in 1975, when she appeared for the first time on French television in the program "Special Matteo", presented by her friend, the French artist Mireille Mathieu, and there was the song "Your Love in the Summer."
The relationship took a deeper form during the Lebanese war, when Fairouz gave a huge party at the 1979 Olympics in Paris, and sang "Paris, Oh Flower of Freedom."
And the last part of the song says, "O France, what do you say to your family about my wounded country / About my country that is crowned with danger and wind / Our story from the beginning of time / Lebanon will be hurt, Lebanon will be destroyed / They say he died and he will not die / And he will return from Hajaru above homes / and decorate Tire, Sidon and Beirut."
Fayrouz received the highest French honors, including the Commander of Arts and Letters from the late French President Francois Mitterrand in 1988, and the Knight Legion of Honor from the late President Jacques Chirac in 1998.
A historical opportunity,
and a number of artists and media professionals interacted with the announcement of the French President’s meeting with Fayrouz, and no comment was issued from Fayrouz’s office in Lebanon or from her daughter, director Rima Rahbani.
The Lebanese artist Melhem Zein considered that the French president "will receive the Medal of Honor of the rank of Fairouz through this meeting, because the meeting with her will be recorded in his record and the public opinion will remember him more than any other political meeting."
He added, "I do not think that this historic opportunity is repeated for anyone, even senior leaders. We all know that the story of Fairouz and closed doors is a long story, and this is her secret that we loved as much as we loved her art .. Of course we will envy Macron for this opportunity, and we consider that he chose the right path. He wanted to He tells us this is the Lebanon we want ... in the spotless image of Fairouz, which made glory. "
Macron's visit to Beirut is scheduled to continue until Tuesday, when he will visit neighborhoods affected and affected by the explosion, and he will plant a cedar tree with Lebanese children in the Jaj forest in northeast Beirut.