France told Lebanon on Thursday that it had no option but to accept an IMF deal to help it out of a dire financial crisis and that Beirut must enact reforms urgently if it is to win foreign aid.
Lebanon desperately needs such aid as it wrestles with a financial meltdown rooted in decades of state corruption and waste. The crisis marks the biggest threat to its stability since a 1975-90 civil war.
"'Help us help you' is the message of my visit," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said after meeting Lebanese leaders in Beirut. He said that Paris stood ready to mobilize support but that there must be concrete action on reform.
A collapsing currency has sent inflation and poverty soaring, with savers frozen out of their accounts in a paralyzed banking system.