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Macron gives Lebanon ultimatum over government formation

Monday, 28 September 2020 11:18 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 28 September 2020 11:42 AM ]

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference on the situation in Lebanon on September 27, 2020 in Paris. (Photo by AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron has given Lebanese political leaders an ultimatum to form a new government within six weeks.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib announced his resignation on Saturday amid a deadlock over the government formation in the crisis-hit country.

Macron, who had threatened Lebanese leaders with sanctions if they did not submit to reforms and a “political change,” said on Sunday he was "ashamed of Lebanon's political leaders".

Speaking at at a news conference devoted to Lebanon in Paris on Sunday, Macron said the Lebanese political leaders had “decided to betray this commitment” to form a government by mid-September.

Macron also accused the Lebanese authorities and political forces of favoring “their partisan and individual interests to the detriment of the general interest of the country".

The French president had initially proposed a roadmap to Lebanese authorities to unlock billions of dollars in funds from the international community during his colonial-style sojourn in Lebanon that followed Beirut's cataclysmic blast in August.

The visit was slammed by many Twitter users over what they deemed as interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon, which gained independence from the French colonial rule more than seven decades ago.

On Sunday, Macron gave political leaders 4-6 weeks to form a new government.

Macron’s colonial-style Lebanon sojourn sparks derision, outcry

Lebanese people have taken to the social media to vent their anger at French President Emmanuel Macron over his uninvited visit to Lebanon and his "colonial mentality".

When asked whether sanctions were on the table, Macron said he would only consider them at a later stage in conjunction with other powers as he could not see their use for now.

He stressed that the French initiative “will persist”.

"It is now up to Lebanese officials to seize this last chance themselves," the French president said.

Adib’s resignation came almost a month after he was appointed by the president to form a new government.

Lebanon is currently mired in the country’s worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history.

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