France’s Emmanuel Macron Pledges Support during Visit to Lebanon

BEIRUT, KOMPAS.com – French President Emmanuel Macron pledged his support and urged change after the harrowing Beirut explosion during a visit to Lebanon.

The Lebanese capital has been left in a disastrous state that has sparked grief and fury, but also global support for Beirut.

"Lebanon is not alone," he tweeted on arrival before pledging Paris would coordinate international relief efforts.

The colossal blast has claimed the lives of 137 casualties, wounded thousands, and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Read also: Beirut Hit with Massive Explosions, Damages and Injuries Reported

But Macron also warned that Lebanon — already mired in a deep economic crisis, in desperate need of a bailout and hit by political turmoil — would "continue to sink" unless it implements urgent reforms.

Public anger is on the boil over the blast caused by a massive pile of ammonium nitrate that had for years lain in a ramshackle portside warehouse — proof to many Lebanese of the deep rot at the core of their state system.

Macron visited Beirut's harbourside blast zone, now a wasteland of blackened ruins, rubble and charred debris where a 140 meter (460 feet) wide crater has filled with seawater.

Read also: Many Casualties and Thousands Left Injured in Aftermath of Lebanon’s Explosions

As Macron inspected a devastated pharmacy, angry crowds outside vented their fury at their "terrorist" leadership, shouting "revolution" and "the people want an end to the regime!"

Emmanuel Macron's visit to the small Mediterranean country, France's Middle East protege and former colonial-era protectorate was the first by a foreign head of state since Tuesday's unprecedented tragedy.

Two days on, Lebanon was still reeling from a blast so huge it was felt in neighboring countries, its mushroom-shaped cloud drawing comparisons with the Hiroshima atom bomb.

"Apocalypse", "Armageddon" — Lebanese were lost for words to describe the impact of the blast, which dwarfed anything the country had experienced in its violence-plagued history.

The deadly explosion left dozens more missing and a staggering 5,000 people wounded, many by flying shards of glass as windows imploded.

The death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers keep digging through the rubble.