Macron starts Lebanon trip by meeting iconic Lebanese diva

• Macron instead chose to see Lebanon’s No. 1 diva Fairouz, a national symbol and one of the rare figures in Lebanon beloved and respected across the country. The meeting with Fairouz is a personal gesture from Macron, whose deep engagement with Lebanon has been denounced by his critics as a neocolonialist foray into a former French protectorate. Macron’s defenders, however, including Beirut residents enraged at their own leaders, have praised him for visiting gutted neighborhoods in the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion that tore through their capital. Following his arrival at Beirut airport Monday night, Macron went straight to visit Fairouz at her home in Rabieh, north of Beirut, away from the media upon her request.