Burning tires in downtown Beirut during a sit-in by former soldiers on Sept. 9, 2026. (Credit: Téa Ziade/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Today's news
Although no large protest movement has emerged yet, a sense of popular discontent seems to be simmering in Lebanon, with several sectors announcing strikes and demonstrations to make their social demands heard, against the backdrop of a substantial rise in fuel prices in recent weeks. Lebanese civil servants are observing a two-day strike on Wednesday and Thursday and confirm the closure of public administrations every Friday, demanding an increase in their transportation allowances. “All employees of official administrations and municipalities” have been called to honor this strike call. Van drivers, for their part, blocked the Dahr al-Baidar road that connects Beirut to the Bekaa Valley to protest fuel price hikes, as the federations and unions of road transport in Lebanon hold an extraordinary meeting on the issue.
Why it matters:
The increase in fuel prices, which has a knock-on effect on the prices of consumer goods and basic necessities, comes as Lebanese citizens are already exhausted by successive wars and the ongoing socio-economic crisis. The government, currently working on the 2027 budget project and having established a "ministerial working group," is trying to find solutions, but these may only be "limited at the budget level.” This situation raises fears of a future social explosion.
What to watch:
The Lebanese-Syrian Investment Forum opened in Beirut Wednesday morning, attended by many senior Syrian officials and ministers who arrived in Lebanon last night. This event marks another step towards rapprochement between the two countries since the overthrow in December 2024 of Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship. During a dinner with forum participants on Tuesday evening, Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, who oversees relations with Damascus, emphasized that ties have reached “advanced levels,” reiterated the importance of strengthening them “on bases that respect the sovereignty of both countries and their common interests,” and called for more “regular institutional cooperation in the economic and commercial fields, as well as in energy, transportation, agriculture, health, education and tourism.” On Wednesday, Syrian Economy and Industry Minister Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar called for making the economy a “space of stability” between Beirut and Damascus, while his Lebanese counterpart, Amer Bisat, invited participants to “think about how to turn geography, which is an imposed reality, into an opportunity.”
President Joseph Aoun, who received the delegation ahead of the Forum’s opening, had stated he “attaches great importance to the proposal for economic integration in the region.”
In an interview from New York on Tuesday evening, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa briefly discussed relations with Lebanon, stressing that Damascus does not want to play a role in disarming Hezbollah, but rather to help Lebanese authorities strengthen themselves so they may regain a monopoly on arms.
In other news
- The UN General Assembly will continue its session today, with highly anticipated addresses by Ahmad al-Sharaa and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, following indirect discussions between Washington and Tehran in New York and new threats from Donald Trump.
- In his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that “only a fully sovereign Lebanon” will be able to disarm Hezbollah and restore security.
- Israeli attacks continue in southern Lebanon, with renewed fire on the Zibqine valley, which has been continuously targeted in recent days, airstrikes on Mansouri, and demolitions in Khiam, according to information from our correspondent.
- The Supreme Judicial Council in Lebanon unanimously approved judicial rotations, amounting to appointments for about sixty vacant posts around the country.
- Eighty Syrians returned to their homeland this morning under the “voluntary returns” program, coordinated from Lebanon with the U.N.’s Refugee Agency.
