Residents of Qobbeh, in Tripoli (northern Lebanon), set up tents after calls to evacuate a building at risk of collapse, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Credit: Michel Hallak/L'Orient-Le Jour)
In response to a series of building collapses in Tripoli, the capital of northern Lebanon, since the start of winter, the CMA CGM Foundation announced Thursday the creation of a $1 million emergency fund to support Lebanon’s second-largest city.
This fund "will help support families affected by the urgent humanitarian situation in Tripoli. Deeply attached to our roots and guided by our family values, we will remain alongside the most destitute Lebanese families and continue our action in the fields of humanitarian aid and education," announced foundation President Tanya Saadeh Zeenny during a meeting with Social Development Minister Haneen Sayed.
The minister said that "in times of crisis, partnerships and shared responsibilities, particularly through cooperation with the CMA CGM Foundation, constitute an essential pillar to protect our communities and rekindle hope."
The procedures for disbursing funds will be defined in coordination with the ministry to respond to Tripoli’s and its residents' urgent humanitarian needs.
Discussions also addressed prospects for future cooperation and the CMA CGM Foundation's activities in Lebanon.
As a reminder, the French shipping giant has managed the container terminals at the port of Tripoli since 2021.
Some Tripoli residents set up tents, others protest
With increasing calls for evacuation from buildings deemed at risk in recent days, residents of a threatened building in Qobbeh set up tents near the building Thursday night, citing a lack of alternative housing.
In the neighboring district of Bab al-Tabbaneh, residents of the Sheikh building blocked the main road and set tires on fire to protest the municipality's evacuation decisions made in coordination with security forces, our correspondent in the region reports.
Some of the evacuated Qobbeh residents were sheltered at the Tripoli Technical Hospitality Institute in Mina.
Meanwhile, the municipality of Lebanon’s second city assured that funds would be allocated to displaced families by the Higher Relief Committee.
Since the beginning of winter, several evacuations and building collapses have occurred in Tripoli, mainly due to negligence and lack of maintenance.
Last Sunday, the collapse of a building in the Bab al-Tabbaneh district killed 13, including a three-year-old child.
Last January, a father and his daughter died in a similar incident, which made national headlines in Lebanon.
Authorities have repeatedly warned of the growing risk of collapses in the city, the country's most impoverished, where infrastructure is deteriorating amid a chronic lack of funding.
On Tuesday, the municipality immediately evacuated the Kabbara building in the Qobbeh district.
In response to this situation, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government decided Monday, following an emergency meeting, to order the evacuation of 114 at-risk buildings in Tripoli within a month and to cover housing costs for affected residents.
