France to give $17.48mln to Lebanese schools: Le Drian

PHOTO

BEIRUT: France will provide francophone schools in Lebanon with 15 million euros in financial support, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday.

I understand the economic difficulty schools are currently experiencing and people are suffering from paying school fees, Le Drian said in a televised news conference.

You can count on France for help and we will not allow the education sector to collapse, especially the francophone schools in Lebanon. We will not let the Lebanese youth face the current crisis alone, he stressed.

Hundreds of Lebanese private schools face closure due to the financial crisis, threatening to swell the ranks of the country's already overstretched public schools. Many students have already transitioned to public schools after their families found themselves unable to pay tuition fees at private schools as runaway inflation stretches household budgets.

In comments made Thursday, Le Drian indicated that France had developed a plan to assist French and Lebanese schools, saying: More than 40 schools will receive financial support.

Le Drian is the first high-ranking European official to visit Lebanon since the formation of the current government on Jan. 21. The foreign minister held talks Thursday separately with President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Hassan Diab, focusing on bilateral relations and how to help Lebanon out of its deepening economic and financial crisis, the worst in decades.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an as is and as available basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.