Lebanese-French protesters living in Paris commemorate the third anniversary of the Aug. 4, 2020, port explosion. (Credit: Marcelle Jade)
BEIRUT — Around 100 people gathered Friday afternoon at Trocadéro Square in Paris to commemorate the third anniversary of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion.
"We are [protesting] calmly and in solemnity, but the anger is still present deep down," said Richard Njeim, a Lebanese resident in Paris contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour and who participated in the protest.
In Lebanon, the commemoration brought together a little over 1,000 people in Beirut for a march that started at the fire station in Karantina around 4 p.m. and headed toward the Beirut port. Several relatives of the those who were killed in the blast gave speeches.
The Aug. 4 explosion, caused by the detonation of large quantities of ammonium nitrate haphazardly stored in a warehouse at the port, killed at least 235 people, injured 6,500 others, and devastated entire neighborhoods of the capital. The Lebanese investigation into this tragedy, led by Judge Tarek Bitar, has been at a standstill since February, blocked by political interference from several sides.
In Lebanon, the commemoration...