Bassil on tour in the Chouf, ‘a region that embodies diversity and the ability to overcome wounds’

The head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM, Aounist), Gebran Bassil, stated during a meeting with residents of Fouara in Upper Chouf that “the value of the region lies in its representation of diversity and its ability to overcome all wounds.” The visit of the party leader, founded by his father-in-law, former president Michel Aoun, comes just months ahead of a legislative election expected in spring 2026.

“The most important thing is our national thinking, namely that we want to live together, and those who want to return to the era of massacres can only try to sow discord. Diversity is either a source of wealth or a source of conflict, and Lebanon is made this way,” he emphasized. The FPM leader also stated that with simple measures, the state can impose its authority. “Even if we are not in power, we are part of the state, but as long as we are in the opposition, we have the responsibility to make our voice heard,” he stressed.

Gebran Bassil also visited Deir al-Qamar, where he met residents and local notables in the village square.

During a tour of the Chouf by Bassil in August 2019, gunfire exchanges occurred between supporters of the two rival Druze leaders, Progressive Socialist Party head Walid Jumblatt and Bassil’s allied Druze MP Talal Arslane. These clashes — widely believed to have been provoked by comments made by Bassil about the Mountain War in the 1980s — left two supporters of Arslane’s Lebanese Democratic Party dead. They led to a government deadlock lasting over a month before the two Druze rivals reconciled at the presidential palace.

Bassil en tournée dans le Chouf, « une région qui incarne la diversité et la capacité à surmonter les blessures »