In this month of August, franceinfo wonders about the clichés that we sometimes associate with a country. Is it relevant? Or, on the contrary, unfounded? Today, direction Lebanon. Between disrespectful motorists and roads in poor condition, are the Lebanese roads really impassable?
They assure him: Rowa and Isabella will never drive in Lebanon. Sitting on the terrace of a café in the Gemmayzé district of Beirut, the two 26-year-old Danish tourists are waiting for a taxi. For nothing at least they would drive in this country. “Here, thepeople drive very badly. They drive drunk, they don’t pay attention to red lights, they go fast… It’s crazy, it’s really the law of the strongest!loose Rowa. “By driving correctly in Lebanon, we would be putting ourselves in danger because nobody does it!”assures Isabella.
Excessive speed, phone while driving, one-way traffic, double parking… These behaviors are however punishable by the Lebanese highway code. At the wheel, few inhabitants apply these rules. On the side of the roads, few are the police who verbalize.
With the economic crisis that has ravaged the country for two years, the State no longer maintains the road network. Yacoub Awada, taxi driver, knows by heart the obstacles he will encounter on his way. “There are no worse roads than ours. There are holes and bumps everywhere!blows the Lebanese. The other day I fell into a hole and my tire blew. This hole had been there for several months but no one fixed it.” Nabih Jabr, Under-Secretary General of the Lebanese Red Cross, observes helplessly the degradation: “We are seeing more and more serious accidents, which claim many victims.”
“There is no more money to maintain the road infrastructure, there is no more electricity to light the roads. Many citizens no longer have enough money to maintain their vehicles…”
Nabih Jabr, Under-Secretary General of the Lebanese Red Crossat franceinfo
Road accidents are one of the leading causes of death in Lebanon, with 40% of victims being pedestrians. In 2017, the World Bank committed 200 million euros to rehabilitate Lebanese roads. On site, work is struggling to begin.