PARIS: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Lebanon’s political and economic collapse was like the sinking of the Titanic, only without the music.
“Lebanon is the Titanic without the orchestra,” Le Drian told the daily Le Figaro in an interview published on Sunday. “The Lebanese are in complete denial as they sink, and there isn’t even the music.”
Le Drian’s remarks set a pessimistic tone a little over a week before President Emmanuel Macron makes his third visit to Beirut since a massive port blast destroyed swathes of the city and killed 200 people in August.
Macron is losing patience with Lebanon’s politicians as rival politicians mired in turf battles stand in the way of sweeping reforms that donors say are imperative for badly-needed financial aid to be released.
It is believed the Titanic’s orchestra kept playing for as long as it could as the liner went down in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912, trying to help keep passengers calm amid impending doom. All the musicians perished.
Lebanon’s collapse is like the Titanic’s sinking, only without the music — Le Drian
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Lebanon’s collapse is like the Titanic’s sinking, only without the music — Le Drian
- Le Drian’s remarks set a pessimistic tone ahead of the third visit by President Emmanuel Macron to Beirut since the port explosion
Jordan says it took part in US-led operation against Daesh sites in Syria
CAIRO: The Jordanian Royal Air Force has participated in the US-led airstrikes carried against the Daesh group in Syria earlier on Friday.
The US military said it struck Daesh strongholds across central Syria in response to a deadly attack on American forces in the country. Aircraft from Jordan were also involved.
Jordan’s state-run Petra News Agency said: “This participation comes in cooperation with the United States as part of the international coalition against the terrorist Daesh group, which the Syrian government recently joined.”
The US Central Command (Centcom) said the attacks were carried by fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery against more than 70 targets at multiple locations, mainly targeting infrastructure and weapons sites.
