Macron tells Lebanese leaders to reform swiftly or face sanctions

Lebanese politicians, some of them former warlords who have overseen decades of industrial-scale corruption, face a daunting task with an economy in meltdown, a swathe of Beirut in tatters after the Aug. 4 port blast and sectarian tensions rising.

Macron told online news provider Brut that he would visit Lebanon again in December.

Hours before he arrived on Monday, a new prime minister was designated, Mustapha Adib, following a consensus among major parties forged under pressure from Macron over the weekend.

Macron said he would use his weight to press for the formation of a new government. Without reforms, funds pledged at a 2018 donor conference in Paris would not be released, he said.

Macron visited Beirut in the immediate aftermath of the port explosion that killed more than 190 people and injured 6,000.

Macron said the international community must stay focused on the emergency in Lebanon for six weeks and that he was ready to help organize an international conference, in coordination with the United Nations, in mid to late October.

“I am ready to host it in Paris,” he said.

Source:(Reuters)