French Court of Audit calls for evaluation of financial aid to Lebanon

On Monday, the French Court of Audit recommended that the government assess the effectiveness of its financial aid to Lebanon in order to better meet the needs of the Lebanese people, who are facing severe economic, social, and political crises.

In an attempt to mitigate the impact of the multiple crises that have plagued Lebanon for the past four years, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of aid packages to assist the country following the devastating explosion that occurred at the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, which destroyed entire neighborhoods in the Lebanese capital.

The French Court of Audit scrutinized the assistance provided by the French government to Lebanon between 2020 and 2022 to alleviate the economic, social, and political repercussions afflicting the country.

In a report published on Monday, the Audit Bureau said that it had concluded, as a result of its audit of the aid that Paris provided to Beirut, that the government should be cautious in its aid and loans to Lebanon.

The report emphasized the importance of establishing permanent mechanisms to unify statistics to obtain the necessary tools to measure the consistency, effectiveness, and impact of French public assistance and to better direct financial flows toward the needs of the Lebanese people.

The Court of Audit noted in its report that "the state has taken strong action since 2020 to help the Lebanese people in the face of the crisis" they are experiencing.

Furthermore, the report revealed that the annual government appropriations allocated to Lebanon increased by approximately threefold (270%) starting in 2020. Between 2020 and 2022, 214 million euros was spent on public resources, with 45% allocated to education and training, 25% to healthcare, 10% to nutrition and agriculture, 10% to reconstruction and the economy, and 10% to civil society.

The Court of Audit also highlighted in its report that it is logical for political considerations to dominate in a sensitive and complex matter such as aid to Lebanon. However, it stressed the need to strengthen monitoring commitments and payments at the central level.

This would allow for a more accurate assessment of "the nature and scope of the loans granted, verification of their consistency (...), evaluation of their impact, and the provision of effective tools for their direction."

Lebanon, which has been without a president since the end of October, has been experiencing an economic collapse since 2019, classified by the World Bank as one of the worst in the world since 1850.

According to the United Nations, more than 80% of Lebanon's population now lives below the poverty line.