France blacklists Lebanon

Ban will not affect French funded projects

France has added Lebanon to a blacklist of 17 countries that do not help investigate foreign aid fraud. The ban aims to limit the distribution of French funds through banks in the blacklisted countries.

The blacklist is an extension of an established register of eight ‘non-cooperative states and territories’ that already includes Botswana, Brunei, Nauru, Guatemala, and the Philippines.

Alain Bifani, General Director of the Ministry of Finance, said local authorities are currently investigating the French ban. “For now we are contacting the French Embassy to learn all aspects of the decision,” he said.

Amine Lebbos, Professor at the Sagesse University, Faculty of Political Sciences, and international affairs expert, said the decision aims to pressure the local banking sector in matters of transparency.

“The recurrence of this ban will have negative impacts on the local banking sector,” Lebbos said. “This would question the credibility of our banks.”

According to Bifani, the ban does not currently affect aid channeled to Lebanon through French development agencies.