The message came at 3 p.m. for a meeting at... 3 p.m. The press office of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati convened the government on Wednesday in extremis, to "discuss the agenda initially distributed" the day before.

The message, poster on X by the Prime Minister's Office, comes the day after a tense day when the government could not be held due to lack of quorum, angry demonstrators, including retired military personnel have blocked access to the Grand Serail in Beirut.

About sixty items were on the agenda for the original session, topped by the study of the state budget and a request from the Ministry of Labor to change the minimum wage. The agenda did not specify details, other than the mention of a "formula validated by the Council of State." The last salary change was in April, when the minimum wage was increased from LL 9 to LL 18 million per month.

Following Tuesday's protests, Mikati clarified this morning that a plan for the wage adjustment of the entire public sector had been prepared by his government. A statement from Mikati's office released on Wednesday stressed that he "has asked the Civil Service Council to prepare a comprehensive plan for the wage adjustment of the public sector."

The angry former military personnel yesterday demanded that their case be placed first on the agenda, but also "the publication of a salary readjustment plan 48 hours before any next session" of the government. They are demanding an improvement in their retirement benefits and a revaluation of salaries across the public sector.

Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, former general Georges Nader, who took part in Tuesday's protest and promised that "any future session will be blocked," said that the demonstrators will meet this Wednesday evening to decide on the strategy to follow.

Tuesday's tense session prompted reactions from the Lebanese political class and contrasting opinions within the government itself. While caretaker Industry Minister Georges Bouchikian yesterday said he was “sorry” for the stalled session and described it as “harmful,” his Defense colleague Maurice Slim asserted on Wednesday that “all military personnel are entitled to an income that guarantees their rights and ensures a dignified life for them and their families,” in remarks reported by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

Slim, who is at loggerheads with the head of government, said that “the minimum acceptable would be to grant them the equivalent of at least an additional 40 percent of the minimum wage that was theirs before the financial crisis.”

Protest MP Melhem Khalaf also defended “former military personnel who have expressed their indignation at the absence of a state capable of guaranteeing their rights in an effective and fair manner, notably in the draft 2025 budget,” in remarks also reported by the NNA. He criticized “a resigning government that is making a mockery of the people's demands and neglecting to prepare its budget,” and called on the former soldiers to “force the deputies who represent them to go to Parliament and elect a president,” the only way, in his view, to form a full-fledged government that can meet their demands.

“A meeting of the government was scheduled for yesterday (Tuesday), and with all due respect for freedom of expression, I'm sorry about what happened. I decided to convene the cabinet today because the interests of the people and the governance of the country come first. We will not hesitate for a second to do our duty,” Mikati said at the start of the meeting, as reported by the NNA.

“I repeat my astonishment at the protests in front of the Serail and the verbal escalation. For we have not yet discussed the articles of the budget, and we intend to take temporary social aid measures for public sector workers,” he stated, claiming that decisions to this effect had already been adopted.

“When we start studying the articles of the budget, we will take fundamental measures for the rights of public sector workers, and aid is provided for in the draft budget,” he added.

Retired soldiers protest by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati's Tripoli residence. (Photo provided by L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent Michel Hallak)

During the cabinet session, retired soldiers gathered briefly outside Mikati's residence in Tripoli's Mina district and blocked the road with burning tires, L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent in the north and NNA reported. L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent added that several northern regions are likely to be the scene of similar actions against what the protesters described as the “hijacking of the cabinet session.” Other former soldiers gathered in front of the Grand Serail in Beirut, added the NNA, blocking some roads.

This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.