Macron: Discussing disarming Hezbollah is "not a taboo"

French President Emmanuel Macron said Lebanon’s embattled leaders had pledged Tuesday to form a crisis cabinet within two weeks to push forward with key reforms, as he visited the disaster-hit country.

Macron was in Beirut for a second time since an August 4 explosion there which killed more than 180 people, laid waste to entire city districts and fueled popular rage against the country’s political elite.

Speaking at a press conference following talks with the heads of Lebanon’s parliamentary blocs, Macron said Hizbullah “is probably in parliament because of intimidation but also because other forces have failed to run the country well.”

“But it has a popular base and that is the reality,” he added.

Nonetheless, “with Hizbullah there is a discussion that needs to be initiated,” with regards to disarmament, Macron added.

“This is exactly the discussion we had an hour ago (and) it should not be a taboo,” he said.