Macron to Meet Iconic Fairuz in Upcoming Lebanon Visit

French President Emmanuel Macron will reportedly meet iconic lebanese singer Fairuz in Beirut, Lebanon next Monday.

"One of his first meetings after arriving on Monday will be with Fairuz, one of the rare figures in Lebanon who is admired across the multi-confessional country," the Elysee said.

Fairuz, 85, is famously private and rarely seen in public but throughout her career has roused fans with her songs about love and in praise of the beauty of her troubled nation.

The visit by the French President comes amid rising anti-government feelings, denouncing mismangament and corruption, espcially after the massive blast which hit the Beirut port on August 4th.

"Macron is also scheduled to meet members of Lebanon's political leadership as he returns to the country in search of serious reform," the Elysee said Friday.

Macron's visit is his second one in less than a month after the August 4 blast at the Beirut port that killed 181 people and revived calls for radical change in the country.

Macron will meet political leaders at the palace of President Michel Aoun on Tuesday with the aim of encouraging movement in a political process already mired in stalemate.

"He won't let go," said an Elysee source, who asked not to be named.

"The purpose of his visit is clear: to push for the conditions to be met for the formation of a government that is capable of carrying out reconstruction and reforms," added the source.

On August 9, Macron chaired a video conference that saw world leaders pledging more than 250 million euros ($295 million) for Lebanon.

But France has made clear its patience is far from limitless; Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Thursday that Lebanon risked "disappearing" as a country unless serious reforms are undertaken.

Two days ago, Macron has laid out outline for political and economic reforms that politicians in Lebanon should undertake in order to allow the flow of foreign aid and rescue the country from many crises, including economic collapse.

A Lebanese political source said that the French ambassador to Beirut handed over the “ideas paper”, which came in two pages that Reuters has seen.

A source at Macron’s Elysee office said the ambassador had handed a short document to President Michel Aoun and Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, but described it as informal and not a roadmap.

The necessary reforms included in the document cover an audit of the central bank accounts, the formation of an interim government capable of implementing urgent reforms, and early legislative elections within a year.

Lebanon’s current caretaker government, which took office in January with support from Hezbollah and its allies, has failed to make progress in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package due to deadlock over reforms and a dispute over the size of the financial sector losses.