‘If reforms are not made, Lebanon will continue to suffer,’ says Macron in Beirut

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Lebanon Thursday, the first world leader in Beirut after the port blast that wreaked destruction across the capital, and called for the country's political elite to make swift and urgent reforms.

The blast on Tuesday – blamed on an unsecured store of ammonium nitrate at the Beirut port – devastated entire neighbourhoods, killed over 100 people and left up to 300,000 without homes.

It was the latest blow to a country already reeling from an unprecedented economic crisis and political turbulence.

Macron was greeted on the tarmac by Lebanese President Michel Aoun and is expected to head directly to the port to meet Lebanese and French teams in the disaster area.

Speaking shortly after his arrival, Macron said he hoped to bring a message of support and friendship to the Lebanese people.

“Lebanon is facing political and economic crisis and an urgent response to this is required,” the French president said.

He said he would organise further French, European and international aid for Lebanon in the coming days.

But he also urged the country’s political elite to make urgent reforms.

"If reforms are not made, Lebanon will continue to suffer," he said.

France 'very popular' here in Lebanon

Later in the day, Macron will head to the presidential palace for meetings with “all political actors”, including Prime Minister Hassan Diab. He will also meet with members of different political factions and civil society before giving a press conference later that afternoon.

Both sides are hoping Macron’s visit goes more smoothly than a trip last month by France's top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian, who scolded Lebanon's political elite for being too "passive" in the face of an economic crisis compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the aftermath of that visit, Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigned in protest at his government's lack of crisis management.

“France is very popular here in Lebanon. There’s a longrunning history of a relationship between the two,” said FRANCE 24’s Leila Molana-Allen, reporting from Beirut.

"Recently, the tensions have been over the fact that of course the French government is not coordinating with the Lebanese government in the way that politicians here want them to but the Lebanese people, many of them, are happy about that. They feel that international money should not be going to this government.

"Many people who have been protesting for the last nine months, they say that this government will not spend it on the things that people actually need,” Molana-Allen added.

International support pours in

Paris prosecutor Rémy Heitz said Wednesday at least 21 French citizens were injured in the blast and prosecutors had opened a probe into "negligent injury" using their jurisdiction to investigate acts committed abroad.

Two French planes were also expected to arrive on Thursday with specialist rescue personnel and equipment.

Offers of international support have poured in.

Gulf Arab states, who in the past were major financial supporters of Lebanon but recently stepped back because of what they say is Iranian meddling, sent planes with medical equipment and other supplies.

Turkey said it would send 20 doctors to help treat the injured, as well as medical and relief assistance. Iraq pledged fuel aid, while Iran offered food and a field hospital.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted: "We sympathize with the dear Lebanese citizens and stand by them in the painful tragedy of the Beirut port explosion ... Patience in the face of this incident will be a golden leaf of honour for Lebanon."

The United States, Britain and other Western nations, which have been demanding political and economic change in Lebanon, also offered aid. Germany, the Netherlands and Cyprus offered specialised search and rescue teams.