French FM urges Beirut to enact reforms urgently, sees ‘no alternative’ to IMF program
“Help us to help you is the message of my visit,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said after meeting Lebanese leaders in Beirut on Thursday. He added that Paris stood ready to mobilize support but there must be concrete action on reform. Le Drian told Lebanon it had no alternative to an IMF program as it wrestles with an acute financial crisis, Reuters reports. Beirut must enact reforms urgently if it is to win international support, the FM warned.
The financial crisis, rooted in decades of state corruption, marks the biggest threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 1975-90 civil war. A collapsing currency has led to soaring inflation and poverty and savers have lost free access to accounts in a the country’s banking system.
Former colonial ruler France has led international efforts to get Lebanon to reform, hosting a donor meeting in 2018. More than $11 billion was pledged at that time for infrastructure investment contingent on reforms which were promised but not delivered.
Le Drian also said it was essential for Lebanon, where Shiite group Hezbollah is based, to respect a policy of staying out of conflicts in the region.
