Emmanuel Macron pushes for Lebanon reforms, sets terms on Beirut blast bailout package

French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to host another aid support for the blast-ravaged Lebanese capital of Beirut but maintained that any bailout plan is subject to reforms. According to The Guardian, Macron warned that the French bailout package will depend on reforms backed by the new Lebanese cabinet. 

The French President had visited Lebanon last month in the wake of the devastating explosion that rocked Beirut on August 4 and made his second visit on Monday, August 31.

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Financial package on conditions

As per reports, Macron's visit is being seen by local officials as a sign that a financial package they had been pleading for is edging closer. In the recent course of developments ahead of his arrival on Monday, Lebanon leaders chose Mustapha Adib as the new prime minister while promising constitutional reforms that would transform the troubled nation. 

Macron is reported to have said that Lebanon's central bank has been a key focus of French efforts to better understand the scale of the country's financial crisis which has brought it to the brink of a total collapse.

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The French leader stressed that the next few weeks were crucial for the future of Lebanon before an aid conference in Paris scheduled for October. Lebanon is currently witnessing a major economic downturn resulting in its currency plunging in value by 80% with the devastating Beirut blast displacing thousands from their homes. However, the high-level discussion with leaders will mainly focus on structural changes and their implementation. 

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Following public angry in the wake of the Beirut blast, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government had resigned on August 10. The explosion that rocked the port of Beirut on August 4 had triggered public fury and mass protests. The blast was caused after nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at Beirut’s port where they had been stored for six years.

The Lebanese government on Sunday, August 30 informed that the number of people killed in the Beirut blast earlier this month has climbed to 190 with more than 6,500 have been injured. According to an official estimate, 300,000 people were left homeless after the blast. 

READ: Beirut Blast Death Toll Rises To 190, More Than 6,500 People Injured In Explosion