French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the political and economic collapse in Lebanon is like the sinking of the "Titanic", but without music.
The minister's statement comes days before the expected third visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Beirut in less than 4 months.
"Lebanon is Titanic without the orchestra ... the Lebanese are in complete denial and they are drowning, and there is not even music," Le Figaro added in an interview published by the French newspaper Le Figaro on Sunday.
It is believed that the orchestra on board the Titanic kept playing as long as possible, until the ship sank in the Atlantic in 1912, in an attempt to help the passengers calm amid the impending doom that ultimately claimed the lives of all the musicians.
Le Drian: "Lebanon is Titanic without the orchestra ... the Lebanese are in complete denial and they are drowning, and there is not even the music."
Captain of the Titanic 👇🏻 Play
sad music # Lebanon_Line_Red pic.twitter.com/nBkyRTzF1W
- Sabine Jean Youssef (@sabine_youssef) December 13, 2020
Visit Macron
President Macron is scheduled to visit Lebanon between December 21 and 23, and this will be his third visit since the devastating Beirut Port explosion occurred in early August, which killed 200 people and caused massive damage to the city.
The plan proposed by Macron, weeks after the port blew up, to carry out political and economic reforms in Lebanon, is hobbled by the conflicting interests of the main political forces in the country. Jurisdiction and non-party affiliation basis
However, President Aoun returned the ball to Hariri's court, and handed him an integrated government proposal that includes a distribution of portfolios based on clear principles, according to the presidential statement.
International donor institutions say that implementing a set of urgent reforms is a condition for providing financial support to Lebanon, which has been living for years in a political and economic crisis, exacerbated by the Beirut explosion.
The formation of a new Lebanese government capable of implementing the internationally required reforms is one of the conditions of the donors, in addition to carrying out a comprehensive audit of the banking system in Lebanon and other reforms.