Report: Aoun Calls Hariri 'Lazy' after PM Asks Macron to Press President

The latest tensions between al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement started after Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s visit to Paris and his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, a media report said.

The French president expressed to Hariri “his dismay over how the state is being run, politically and financially, and the failure to make reforms, slash deficit and manage the electricity plan, which is essential for lowering the deficit,” informed sources told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

Hariri for his part noted that “the President’s party, which is in charge of the electricity file, does not want to offer any facilitations,” the sources added.

“The Aounists learned that the premier asked Macron to talk to President Michel Aoun when he meets him in New York regarding the needed reforms,” the sources went on to say.

“The issue was raised during the two presidents’ meeting in New York and Aoun was infuriated, especially after learning of Hariri’s remarks, which prompted him to respond harshly and accuse the prime minister of being lazy and unproductive,” the sources said.

In remarks to LBCI television later on Wednesday, governmental sources denied the statements attributed to Hariri in al-Akhbar’s report.