While the general climate has classified the period leading up to the end of President Michel Aoun's term as a transitional phase from an outgoing presidential term to a new upcoming one, the situation in Lebanon is so deteriorated that neglecting this period and failing to take therapeutic steps could lead to even more difficulties and complications. This was warned by the French envoy Ambassador Pierre Doukan in his meetings across various political, economic, and union levels in Beirut. Concurrently, with the governmental deadlock and the faltering possibility of forming a government in the foreseeable future, the general atmosphere suggests that government formation has been postponed until after the election of a new president, whose term is expected to begin on November 1.
According to information from "Al-Jumhuriya," Doukan informed those he met in recent days, which he will continue today in a meeting with President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, as well as with Speaker of the House Nabih Berri, that he carries a French message reaffirming that Paris and President Emmanuel Macron will not abandon Lebanon. However, they are waiting for urgent executive steps from Lebanon to lead the situation to a state of easing, which remains distant unless the Lebanese take the opportunity seriously to save Lebanon.
Informed sources confirmed that Doukan expressed deep regret regarding the situation in Lebanon, whether due to the worsening crisis and increasing hardships for the Lebanese or the glaring negligence in not taking adequate measures to mitigate Lebanon's dire situation. He even expressed deep concerns about a significant decline in Lebanon, possibly to the point of the country being unable to provide wheat and flour for its people. The sources noted that Doukan emphasized to those he met that "the pathway to quick recovery for Lebanon begins with earnest and rapid efforts to complete the agreement with the International Monetary Fund," warning that "every delay in treatment and rescue will come at a very high cost."
Doukan pointed out that "the opportunity still exists to reach this agreement and for Lebanon to benefit from it," warning that "missing this opportunity, which should not be postponed until after the presidential election in Lebanon, means there will be no further interest in finalizing the Fund's agreement with Lebanon. After the COVID-19 crisis and its negative fallout globally, alongside the ramifications of the Russian war in Ukraine and the acute food crisis affecting multiple international fronts, donor countries may no longer have surplus funds to provide to Lebanon; moreover, they may reach a point where they do not have time to grant to Lebanon."
The information indicates that Doukan insisted Lebanon must hasten to adopt measures for its rescue, warning that "delaying Lebanon's response to the conditions and commitments requested by the International Monetary Fund until after the election of a new president is a fatal error made by anyone considering this postponement, especially since the situation following the presidential elections may not differ from the current phase. Therefore, Lebanon must immediately fulfill its commitments and begin preparing the ground to finalize the agreement with the Fund, which would prevent Lebanon from falling further. Lebanese people must understand that their country has reached a desperate state, and their financial bleeding has turned into a river. Your country is committing suicide while having vast and rich resources that it can invest; so help yourselves."
The information emphasized that Doukan stressed the importance of the recovery plan, but "the most important thing is to observe Lebanese steps and initiatives to save their country and themselves." He simultaneously underscored "the necessity of hastening the parliament's approval of the banking secrecy law and 'capital control' and completing the public budget; all these steps are required and helpful, and anything that can be accomplished in this regard is certainly better than nothing."
