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Macron's show mustn't remain a show

2020-08-08T17:15:17.039Z


The French President faces angry and cheering people in Beirut. His courageous appearance must not remain an empty promise. The EU must do everything in its power to stabilize the crumbling country.


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Macron waves to the demonstrators in downtown Beirut

Photo: POOL / REUTERS

It actually says everything about the state of the Lebanese nation that a foreign politician was the first to appear on the streets of Beirut after the catastrophe on Tuesday: French President Emmanuel Macron marched through the streets of the damaged Lebanese capital Beirut, bodies still being recovered from the ruins become. The pictures of his visit should make some heads of state jealous: Thousands of people received Macron, sometimes like a savior, some also insulted him, it was a strange mixture of triumphal procession and gauntlet. The Frenchman was the only politician who showed himself to the people at all.

If Lebanon's leaders wanted to take a similar walk through their city, they would have to fear for their safety these days. The citizens - rightly - hold them responsible for the fact that the state is falling apart, the economy is destroyed and Lebanon was on the way to becoming a "failed state" even before the catastrophe on Tuesday. The Lebanese know that this elite is to blame for the huge explosion that destroyed the port of Beirut and the surrounding area and badly damaged large parts of the city; "Foreign Policy" even compared the explosion with the Chernobyl reactor disaster, which in 1986 also represented the collapse of a system: the Soviet Union. Lebanon President Aoun is "a murderer", angry people shouted at Macron, calling for a "revolution" and the "overthrow of the regime". And shouted to the French President: "You are our only hope!" Macron later did not shake the Lebanese president's hand over Corona - but hugged a woman in the crowd. That was very symbolic.

France is organizing the donor conference

With his visit to Beirut, Macron made an appearance that he will probably remember for a long time: When was the last time a politician was greeted with such emotions and hopes? In his French homeland he could hardly take such a bath in a lot, his popularity is limited. In Lebanon, on the other hand, many people obviously see him as a savior, a counterpart to their own corrupt, hostile politicians - especially in the mostly Christian district of Gemmayze, which he visited. Of course, not all people in the country see it that way. One reason for Lebanon's misery is that it is deeply divided politically and denominationally.

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Macron visiting the destroyed Beirut district of Gemmayze

Photo: Bilal Hussein / AP

France was once a colonial power here, and there are deep cultural and economic ties between France and Lebanon. Macron, knowing this history, used his visit to give France weight in the hour of the catastrophe. On the street, he made promises to the people: he would propose "a new political pact" to the political forces in the country in return for billions in aid - and come back in September. He shouted to a woman who reproached him aloud that he was meeting with warlords: "I'm not here to help them. I'm here to help you!" His message was: Aid money will only be given if the government approves massive reforms. France wants to organize an international donor conference to organize aid that comes into the country and ensure that it is channeled through non-governmental organizations and reaches the people directly - not the politicians.

On the one hand, there is a great danger that Macron will raise unrealistic hopes with his appearance. How should France, how should the European Union stop an elite that has plundered the state for decades and thus triggered a severe economic and financial crisis last year? How should the tangle that is the power structure of Lebanon be untangled? All positions in the state are distributed by denomination, among Shiites, Sunnis and Christians. The powerful Hezbollah militia funded by Iran forms a state within the state. Since last year, protesters have been calling for revolution and disempowerment of Hezbollah in increasingly violent protests. Macron certainly knows that he cannot eliminate this system.

Macron must use France's influence

Nevertheless, Macron's courageous appearance is welcome, his zest for action is necessary. From Germany in particular, France is often mockingly accused of international addiction to grandparents - and of course Macron's appearance can also be explained by the fact that it is still well received at home if the president makes a strong impression in the former colonies. But first and foremost, it is a strong signal from Europe that Macron has traveled to the country so quickly and has sided with the population - against the hated elites, many of whom have been closely linked to France for decades and have had second homes in Paris. France has had close relations with Lebanese politicians for decades and has informal influence in the country. Macron can and must use that now.

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Macron visits the destroyed port area of ​​Beirut

Photo: Thibault Camus / POOL / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

France is the only EU country that has real geopolitical ambition and is openly showing it - sometimes misguided, as the recent solo efforts in Libya show. But at least Macron has a will to shape foreign policy and is not afraid to take on a leading role as Europeans. Germany could also learn something from this. Because Europe is surrounded by an increasingly unstable Mediterranean region with aggressive central powers that seize every opportunity that opens up to them. The EU is restrained or shows disagreement - Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, on the other hand, are creating facts in Syria, Libya or Yemen.

In Lebanon, too, many powers are wedged together, in particular Iran and Saudi Arabia face each other here. But their legitimacy has been seriously damaged by the country's catastrophic situation at the moment. France is not a neutral mediator in the country either, but part of the decades-old trial of strength - but that is precisely why it is so important that Macron has now taken a clear position and shows that he wants to stabilize the state. This is a task not only for Macron, but for all Europeans: At the moment you have a lever in your hand with international aid: You can use the situation to help the country.

Of course, the first thing to do now is to urgently help the residents of the city, whose apartments have been destroyed and devastated, and who suffer from hunger, blackouts and corona. There is a great deal for the EU: a collapse of Lebanon would have serious consequences. In a region where one country after another is disintegrating, Lebanon cannot be the next. This crumbling state has already taken in millions of refugees from Syria. A new wave of refugees from the Middle East would not be manageable.

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Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-08-08

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