After cleaning the streets of Beirut, the Lebanese got down to that of their political class this Saturday, in their own words. Whitewashed by the dramatic consequences of the explosions that they mostly attribute to the negligence of their leaders, tens of thousands of people had taken possession of the Place des Martyrs at the start of the afternoon.
Crystallizing the attention of the police around this high place of protest since October 17, they had allowed in the early evening that about 200 demonstrators, led by former officers, manage to invest the ministry of Foreign Affairs, proclaimed "headquarters of the revolution." Others entered the building of the Lebanese Banking Union.
By early afternoon, small groups had equipped themselves to mark with a white stone this “judgment day,” as it was baptized. Keffiyehs on their faces, gas masks and construction helmets or motorbikes on their heads, they harassed the police for hours, trying to force the security lines and concrete slabs - nicknamed the Berri wall - Lin in reference to Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berry - protecting access to the neighboring parliament.
“They have to get out. All"
The gallows installed in the square, like those carried by some protesters, set the tone. “There is not one to save, criticizes Bassam, badminton racket in hand to relaunch the tear gas bombs. They have to get out. All. The slogans are in unison. “Thawra! Thawra! ", Or" revolution! ". “The people want the government to fall”. " Revenge! Revenge. “On the base of the statue of the Martyrs, the photos of the victims of the explosion - whose death toll is expected to exceed 200 dead and 6,000 injured - have been plastered. Other portraits are brandished at arm's length.
"It's inhuman what happened," castigates Ahmad, 21, a law student from Tripoli, the big city in northern Lebanon. 300,000 people have lost everything. Their house, their money, their work: everything is gone. "As with everything that happens here, we know we can only rely on ourselves," Fara, 25, said. This will also be the case for a change of regime. "
Until then, the political protest had been more peaceful. “In October, a wind of freedom was blowing,” recalls Elias, 26, a Franco-Lebanese living intermittently in Beirut. There, the mood has radically changed. Some of my relatives no longer hide the fact that they want to see leaders die… ”With an onion in hand, her sister Cindy, 24, tries to reduce the tear gas burn. “This turning point, you hear it in the eyes or the voices of the Lebanese. They are hard, and trembling with rage. "
"A lock has jumped"
The roar of thousands of fists falling on the fences surrounding the square gives rhythm to the rhythm. The western end, facing the sea, is drowned in gas, while the clashes rage. According to the Red Cross, in the early evening they had more than a hundred injured, including thirty hospitalized. According to the authorities, a police officer was killed.
Not enough to dampen the ardor of the most vindictive. Several times, some tried to grab a construction truck, eventually rocked by bulldozers. “It's something that we didn't see before, Elias analyzes. The Lebanese are respectful and not the type to break. Nothing to do with what happened in France with the yellow vests. But this time, as Beirut is partly destroyed, a lock has been blown. "
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As night fell on the Lebanese capital, many wondered about the result of a movement that had been losing momentum, in particular because of the Covid, and that the drama of Tuesday came to revive. “I hope we don't give up like every time,” Fara warns. This will be played out over time, but at least we now have the feeling that we are supported by Europe and France. At the end of the day, Hassan Diab the disputed Lebanese Prime Minister announced that he would propose early parliamentary elections.
