France helping Lebanon investigate Beirut port blasts

The French Ambassador to Lebanon, Bruno Foucher, announced yesterday that his country is participating in the ongoing investigations of the Beirut port blast that occurred last Tuesday.

Foucher said, in a series of tweets, that “France has been participating in the ongoing investigation since 4 August.”

He added that his country has provided 46 police officers to support the judicial investigation opened by the Attorney General “to guarantee the integrity and speed of the investigations”.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon on Thursday, where he met with political leaders, inspected the damage to Beirut and promised to help Lebanon.

During the past few days, calls have increased from Lebanese politicians and parties’ leaders to conduct an independent, international investigation into the blasts.

More than 200 people were killed, 6,000 were injured and some 300,000 made homeless after a massive explosion in Beirut port ripped through the capital last Tuesday. The blast destroyed parts of the city and intensified the economic and political distress which has engulfed Lebanon for months.

Authorities say the explosion came from a 2,750-tonne shipment of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had been at the port since 2014.

Lebanon president: Calls for probe into Beirut blast are effort to ‘waste time’