Lebanon at 'risk of disappearing,' warns France

Lebanon is at "risk of disappearing" without crucial government reforms, France’s foreign minister said Thursday, calling for swifter action in the wake of a devastating port explosion in Beirut earlier this month.

"The international community will not sign a blank check if the they [Lebanese authorities] don't put in place the reforms. They must do it quickly ... because the risk today is the disappearance of Lebanon," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a radio interview from France. 

For two years, France has spearheaded diplomatic efforts to persuade officials in the former French colony to enact reforms that would secure foreign aid crucial to avoiding an economic crisis there. 

French President Emmanuel Macron plans to return to Beirut next week to champion reforms and reconstruction following the devastating blast. 

Macron flew to Beirut immediately after the devastating port blast on August 4 that killed over 180 people and left some 250,000 homeless. The French president had dangled the prospect of international reconstruction aid in an attempt to persuade Lebanon’s political elite to implement a new government free from corruption.

"It's for the Lebanese authorities to assume their responsibilities. They are trained and competent, but they have made a consensus among themselves for inaction and that's no longer possible," Le Drian said.

"The president told them that when he went on August 6 and will repeat it when he is in Beirut on Tuesday."