In an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, influential Lebanese personalities have called to freeze suspicious assets held in France belonging to Lebanese officials.
The letter was signed by more than 100 Lebanese civil society activists and was published in the French newspaper Le Monde in an appeal to Macron to face the corruption of the Lebanese ruling class.
They begin the letter to Macron by warning of Lebanon’s fast approaching total economic and political collapse.
“The Lebanese are sinking deeper into poverty and despair every day under the weight of a set of economic and financial crises, aggravated by the double explosion of the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic,” they wrote.
They declared that it is an “absolute necessity” to get rid of a corrupt ruling class that has been enriching itself by emptying state coffers and even diverting foreign financial aid for their benefit.
By asking Macron to freeze all assets of “dubious origin” owned by the Lebanese officials in France, the activists hope to dismantle the political-economic mafia ruling the country and whom they hold responsible for the suffering that prevails in Lebanon.
The letter was signed by influential people, including doctors, lawyers, journalists, and activists such as the likes of economist Nicolas Sarkis, political scientist Karim Emile Bitar, the former Lebanese Minister of Culture Ghassan Salamé, as well as the resigned MP Paula Yacoubian.
