Thousands of Lebanese have taken to the streets to protest against the collapse of their currency

Monday of anger in Lebanon: demonstrations across the country as the price of the Lebanese pound plummets

photo_camera REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR - Protest against the fall of the Lebanese pound and increasing economic hardship, in Zouk, Lebanon, on 8 March 2021

The record fall of the Lebanese pound on the black market, plummeting to close to £11,000 to the dollar, has prompted thousands of Lebanese citizens to take to the streets to protest against the economic situation in the country. Since the summer of 2019, the currency has lost more than 80% of its value, while the Central Bank's dollar reserves have been depleted. Even food shops have witnessed the desperation of people who have gone to stockpile basic goods in an uncontrolled manner, even causing clashes. The financial crisis is not the only problem facing the country, which is also facing a major socio-political crisis that is still at a standstill. 

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The tension that the Lebanese population is experiencing has exploded in what protesters have dubbed the "Monday of anger", which has stained the streets across the country. Access roads to Beirut have been cut off, especially the airport road and in the northern regions, as well as Bekaa in the east, according to the National News Agency. They add that protesters have set fire to rubbish bins and vandalised some of the public furniture. One of the protesters said that "everyone has four or five dependents, including their parents". "They (the politicians) should resign, aren't they ashamed to starve their own people," he asked. 

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"We closed all the roads in the area today to tell everyone: it's over, we have nothing left to lose, even our dignity has been lost," explained another protester, Pascal Nohra, speaking to AFP. The woman, who took part in the closure of a main road in Jal el Dib, north of Beirut, called on the rest of Lebanese society to take to the streets to protest against the economic situation in the country: "We want all the people to show solidarity with us and take to the streets to claim their rights, because the current crisis affects all Lebanese". 

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The unrest on the streets of Lebanon on Monday coincided with the entry into force of the latest phase of the easing of the government's measures against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Since last February, restrictions have been tightened to the extent that even supermarkets were not allowed to open on days of complete isolation. These measures have already led to incidents across the country. Now, the street protests are making it difficult for medical supplies to reach hospitals, with some companies calling on them to "facilitate the passage of their trucks on all roads to meet the hospitals' need for medical oxygen for humanitarian needs".

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The American University of Beirut's Crisis Observatory, a research initiative aimed at studying the implications of Lebanon's multiple crises and ways to address them, predicts that the worst is yet to come. They believe that, despite knowing about the fall in the price of their currency, the real consequences for people's purchasing power are yet to come. He also says that aid for small businesses is essential and will come, but that it is likely that, even with its arrival, the economic situation of many of them will be unsustainable. 

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Adding to the hostile atmosphere is the fact that the political spectrum is not much better. Since Hassan Diab resigned as prime minister following the Beirut explosions, political efforts have failed to produce results, and pressure from the international community has been insufficient. Muhammad Faour, a researcher in banking and financial affairs, told AFP that the fall of the pound "is just a continuation of a clear trend of falling exchange rates since the beginning of the crisis and chronic political inaction".

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