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French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beirut on Thursday, following the deadly blast that killed at least 135 people and injured more than 5,000, and called for the country’s ruling elite to make urgent reforms.
Macron, the first world leader to visit the Lebanese capital since the massive explosion ripped through it on Tuesday, said that “Lebanon will continue to sink,” if serious reforms aren’t carried out, according to reports by Reuters.
“Beyond the blast, we know the crisis here is serious, it involves the historic responsibility of leaders in place,” Macron said, after being greeted in the former French colony by Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun.
Macron was immediately swarmed by locals, chanting for the fall of Lebanon’s government and pleading for international aid.
It is not clear what caused the blast, but Lebanese officials have blamed the explosion on 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material that can also be used in bombs, which had been stored for six years in unsafe conditions at the port.
The explosion sent seismic shock waves across Beirut, causing widespread damage as far as the outskirts of the capital, wrecking building facades and shattering windows, leaving up to 250,000 without homes fit to live in. The death toll is expected to rise, as rescue workers comb through the wreckage, with dozens of people still missing.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, has declared three days of mourning from Thursday.
Beirut’s governor Marwan Abboud told the Saudi-owned television station Al Hadath TV that collective losses from the blast could reach up to $15 billion, including indirect losses related to business.
The destruction will further devastate the country, still scarred by a 15-year civil war that ended three decades ago, which is now reeling from an economic collapse and political gridlock, as well as a surge in coronavirus infections.
Read:Here’s why the massive explosion in Beirut will deepen Lebanon’s financial nightmare
Countries around the world are preparing to dispatch humanitarian aid and search-and-rescue teams. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged €33 million ($39 million) in emergency funding, with further support being considered.
The United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) said in a statement that the explosion and the damage to the port, which tore through major grain silos, “will exacerbate the grim economic and food security situation.”
“As Lebanon imports nearly 85 percent of its food, the severe damage to the Port of Beirut — the largest in the country — would push food prices beyond the reach of many. The price of a monthly food basket — that is a selection of staple food items a family needs — has more than doubled over the past six months,” the WFP said.
In March, Lebanon said it had defaulted on its national debt pile of $90 billion — nearly 170% of its gross domestic product — making it one of the highest debt ratios in the world. In May, the country opened talks with the International Monetary Fund in the hope of a receiving a bailout, but those stalled because of political infighting in the country.
Read:Lebanon bonds steady after deadly explosion
Macron is scheduled to hold meetings later on Thursday with members of different political factions and civil society before giving a press conference.
