The arrivals hall at Rafik Hariri International Airport, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
On the way out of Beirut, on the airport road, the atmosphere is light. The black clouds that recently escaped from the southern suburbs of the capital targeted by Israeli strikes have disappeared. The smell of garbage is gone, too. Only the traffic jams remain: This morning is a bit special. It's "tezfeet day," proudly declares an employee of the Araco company. Dispatched to refurbish the asphalt ahead of the summer season, the local construction company is working on renovating the Cocody Bridge, at the intersection of the main highway and the coastal road. In yellow vests and helmets, the workers are busy. "Day and night, to do in a week what normally takes a month," said a site foreman posted at the base of the site. From section to section, the old cracks are gradually being replaced with the raven black of...
On the way out of Beirut, on the airport road, the atmosphere is light. The black clouds that recently escaped from the southern suburbs of the capital targeted by Israeli strikes have disappeared. The smell of garbage is gone, too. Only the traffic jams remain: This morning is a bit special. It's "tezfeet day," proudly declares an employee of the Araco company. Dispatched to refurbish the asphalt ahead of the summer season, the local construction company is working on renovating the Cocody Bridge, at the intersection of the main highway and the coastal road. In yellow vests and helmets, the workers are busy. "Day and night, to do in a week what normally takes a month," said a site foreman posted at the base of the site. From section to section, the old cracks are gradually being replaced with the raven black of...