What’s up with Macron’s Lawrence of Arabia stunt?

President Macron neither lacks chutzpah nor a lust for drama. His walkabout yesterday amid the devastation of Lebanon’s Beirut, following the massive chemical explosion that killed over 150, wounded 5000 and razed a whole section of the city, evoked David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia with Macron as the strutting Peter O’Toole denouncing the factionalism that had thwarted the unity of the Arab peoples. 

‘I am here… to launch a new political initiative’ Macron intoned before shell-shocked crowds baying for a change of regime. ‘I expect clear answers from the Lebanese authorities about their commitments.’ And he warned that he would be back on 1 September to check that aid had been distributed properly and ‘does not fall into corrupt hands’. Meanwhile back in France condemnation of Macron’s stunt spanned the gamut of French politics: ‘Lebanon is not a French protectorate’ came the cry from an array of political leaders from left to right.