French President Emmanuel Macron demanded Thursday, August 4, in an interview with the Lebanese daily
L'Orient-Le Jour
, that justice be "
done
" on the causes of the explosion two years ago in the port of Beirut, regretting that the investigation has been "
suspended for several months
".
“
I say it again today with force: justice must be done.
In order to mourn and rebuild, the Lebanese men and women and all those who live in this country (...) need to know the truth
”, declared the Head of State.
“
Lebanon is going through a moment of unprecedented crisis.
It also needs justice to recover
”, he adds, specifying that, “
in this area too, France will continue, with its partners, to help
” the country.
For him, the Lebanese investigation, "
suspended for several months
", must be "
carried out to an end, in complete independence and away from any political interference
".
Read alsoLebanon: the investigation into the explosion at the port of Beirut still suspended
Emmanuel Macron was strongly mobilized after the gigantic explosion which on August 4, 2020 devastated entire districts of the capital and left more than 200 dead and 6,500 injured.
He went there two days later, then a month later and co-organized three support conferences with the UN.
“
I will never resign myself, I will not let Lebanon collapse, let alone disappear.
Despite the headwinds and the difficulties, I will stay the course, determined, lucid and pragmatic
, ”he assures.
The president recognizes that the expected results have not been obtained because, he underlines, "
we have not succeeded in overcoming the force of inertia of the Lebanese system and its actors
".
For him, the agreement concluded in April with the IMF
must now be implemented
" because "
it is an important step to bring back to Lebanon the lost confidence of investors
".
Emmanuel Macron warns Lebanon
Emmanuel Macron also warns that Lebanon "
would not survive a new conflict on the southern border
" with Israel, "
which would be much more deadly, much more destructive than that of 2006
".
“
No Lebanese actor has any interest in it.
Everyone should be aware of this.
In this regard, it is particularly important that the difficult question of the maritime border with Israel (...) not be exploited
,” he said.
The American mediator on this file, Amos Hochstein, said on Monday that he remained "
optimistic
" about the possibility of reaching an agreement between the two countries to delimit their maritime border and remove obstacles to hydrocarbon exploration.