It is the end of a mirage. Since 2019, the Pays du Cèdre has experienced a major financial crisis that has pushed its inhabitants into poverty. Formerly considered the “Switzerland of the Middle East”, Lebanon now has to face the consequences of over-indebtedness and poor management of the country by its leaders.
To express their anger, thousands of Lebanese took to the streets in October 2019. But in addition to the financial crisis, in 2020, the Covid-19 epidemic and the explosion in the port of Beirut were added, pushing the country in misery.
Benjamin Barthe is correspondent of World in Beirut. He tells us, in this episode of the podcast “L’Heure du Monde”, how Lebanon has changed in a few years.
An episode produced by Cyrielle Bedu, directed by Amandine Robillard and presented by Morgane Tual.
“Time of the World”
“L’Heure du Monde” is the daily news podcast of the World. Listen to a new episode every day from 6 a.m. on Lemonde.fr or on Spotify. Find all the episodes here.
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