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3. ‘Block Everything:’ Same Recipe, Same Poison in France and Lebanon

In Paris, it’s the grand carnival of chaos. They call it a “day of action,” as if the country needed a prescribed dose of disorder. In reality, it’s La France Insoumise (LFI) running the show, dragging along its far-left satellites and leaving the Black Blocs lurking in the shadows to do the dirty work. Unable to seize power at the ballot box, LFI is now trying to grab it in the streets. The playbook is simple: block, smash and rebrand it as participatory democracy. Translation: stir up a mess (to put it politely) and wait for surrender.

In Beirut, the show is more theatrical but just as effective. Here, no hooded Black Blocs: their equivalent is the hundreds of Hezbollah motorbikes parading through the streets whenever anyone dares utter the word “disarmament” in reference to the pro-Iranian militia. A roar of engines, a sea of yellow flags, and the message is clear: “We’re everywhere, we see everything, and we won’t give anything up.” Some smash shop windows, others flaunt rockets. Two styles, one goal: to intimidate the silent majority.

And the governments? Once again, a perfect mirror. In France, Sébastien Lecornu, appointed Prime Minister just two days ago, is already walking on eggshells: 80,000 police and gendarmes are deployed, yet everyone knows that a single stray shot or minor “blunder” could tip everything over. Meanwhile, international rating agencies are watching, threatening France with a downgrade – a sign of eroding confidence and the result of a debt that has ballooned by €1 trillion.

In Lebanon, this scenario is all too familiar: the country’s credit rating has been slashed so low that it hit “Z” – assuming such a rating even exists. There, as here, the state lives under constant pressure, a perpetual tightrope walker between chaos and collapse.

In short, whether it’s blocking a train in Lyon or halting a Council of Ministers meeting in Beirut, the tactic is always the same: create chaos to impose your own order. This was the point of yet another speech by Hezbollah’s Secretary-General on Wednesday. In a nutshell: move along, nothing to see here, and forget all this talk of disarmament. In France as in Lebanon, for now, might makes right. On top of that comes the familiar tune, as worn out as any union slogan: “It’s for the people.” Of course it is.

Churchill once said, “When you’re going through hell, keep going.”

Hope awaits at the end of the infernal tunnel.