BEIRUT—France, the U.S. and other countries promised Sunday to help rebuild Lebanon’s capital after a deadly explosion devastated Beirut, but world leaders said they would deliver aid directly to the people in a rebuke to the country’s political leadership.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters took to the streets to demand justice for last week’s blast they blame on years of poor governance. Like Saturday’s protests, which were much bigger, they converged on central Beirut—confronting security forces who responded to attempts to breach their barricades with tear gas.
Protesters called for an overthrow of the political elite they hold responsible for the disaster, which killed more than 150 people.
The deadly explosion and the ensuing protests mark a pivotal moment for Lebanon and a high-point of popular frustration with national leaders. The deaths of Lebanese citizens due to negligence by authorities have carved an unprecedented gap between the government and large parts of the population that say they are running out of options for pushing change.
Protesters are seeking to build on a movement that sprouted last year as a reflection of a frustration among many Lebanese with a political elite they accuse of endemic corruption and nepotism.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the United Nations-backed virtual donor conference, called on Lebanese authorities to act to avoid the country’s collapse and answer people’s call for accountability.
“The future of Lebanon is at stake,” he said.
In a joint statement after the conference, which was attended by President Trump, participants said they agreed to put together “major resources” in the coming days to deliver aid directly to the Lebanese people.
Mr. Macron’s office said participants pledged €252.7 million ($297.8 million), including €30 million from France. At least 28 countries took part in the conference, including Brazil, Australia, Germany, the U.K., China and Japan, Mr. Macron’s office said. Russia didn’t participate.
Turkey will contribute to the relief effort and Israel has said it is willing to help, Mr. Macron said.
The French president said access to health care and food and the need for schools and housing were top priorities. The U.N. estimated repairs, health and food-related costs at about $117 million.
It wasn’t immediately clear how aid would be delivered directly to the people, but going through nongovernmental organizations would be a likely option—a sign of the challenges involved in allocating assistance to a country whose ruling class has a record of waste and corruption.
Participants also said they supported an international “impartial, credible and independent” investigation into the explosion.
The explosion on Tuesday, which ripped through main commercial and residential neighborhoods, occurred when a fire ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the city’s port, authorities said. Questions over how the highly combustible ammonium nitrate came to be stored so close to the city center point to years of gross negligence on the part of local authorities, and have fueled the protests.
Protesters reacted to tear gas Sunday at an antigovernment demonstration in Beirut.
Photo: Sam Tarling For The Wall Street JournalMore than 700 people were injured in Saturday’s protests, according to first responders, as tens of thousands converged on central Beirut. Security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators, some of whom threw stones while trying to enter the barricaded downtown area. Some security forces also shot live ammunition at unknown targets in the area.
One police officer died during the protests at an incident at a downtown hotel, which Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces are investigating.
On Sunday, a smaller gathering of dozens of activists marched from Mar Mikhael, a residential area, to the city’s main fire station to pay tribute to firefighters whose colleagues had responded to the initial fire at the port, which set off two larger explosions. Ten firefighters died in the blasts.
Many Lebanese have criticized national leaders for allowing firefighters to respond to the fire, even though some authorities knew a stockpile of highly combustible ammonium nitrate was stored in an adjacent silo.
As a sign of protest, firefighters declined to turn up when security forces during Saturday’s protest called the fire department to put out flames in a downtown building, according to activists behind Sunday’s march.
At the fire station, firefighters and activists knelt, facing each other, raising their fists in the air.
Lebanese leaders have sought to deflect blame over the blast by endorsing a probe that has so far homed in on junior officials.
Lebanon’s Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad announced her resignation on Sunday, saying she did so out of respect for the victims of the explosion and in response to people’s demands for change.
Eight parliamentarians have also resigned since the explosion.
As the protests escalated Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said he would request an early parliamentary election. He said he was willing to stay in his position for two months.
Neither minister took any responsibility for the deadly explosion.
Tuesday’s explosion was the culmination of a series of crises that have nearly collapsed Lebanon. The country’s economy is unraveling, prompting recurrent protests against government mismanagement and deepening poverty. Meanwhile, the coronavirus outbreak is accelerating.
While foreign governments are seeking to rush short-term aid to Lebanon, chronic corruption as well as the role that the militant and political group Hezbollah plays in the government—to which it has been elected—could impede the delivery of assistance.
The International Monetary Fund and the Trump administration have said they won’t support a $5 billion bailout that Lebanon is seeking without major economic overhauls, including efforts to fight corruption.
The U.S. is particularly troubled by the outsize role of Hezbollah, an organization it has designated as a terror group, in the economy and government. Trump administration officials have unsuccessfully pressed the Lebanese government for years to sideline Hezbollah’s political leaders.
On Sunday, world leaders said they stood ready to provide economic relief to Lebanon once political authorities implement the needed reforms.
Lebanese across the political spectrum have called for international aid, but many disagree on the role foreign countries should play in the country, with some calling on donors to not give any funding through the government due to corruption.
Some protesters on Saturday denounced Hezbollah and called on Iran—which supports the group—to leave Lebanon.
More than 50,000 people have signed a petition for Lebanon to return to French mandate for 10 years, “to establish a clean and durable governance,” due to the Lebanese government’s “inability to secure and manage the country.” Lebanon and Syria were under French mandate—intended to last until the inhabitants of the two countries were considered eligible for self-government—from the end of the First World War until 1943.
“We need international interference,” said Hala Okeili, a protester who lost a yoga studio in the blast.
Others are firmly opposed to any foreign meddling in the nation’s affairs, saying Mr. Macron had no business in Beirut. Mr. Macron toured the city last week, hugging survivors while Lebanese politicians stayed away from the streets.
“It was French colonization that created this situation in the first place,” said one protester, who was interrupted by clouds of tear gas before she could give her name.
Protesters on Sunday had vacated several government buildings they took over on Saturday evening, including the ministries of foreign affairs, economy and environment. The crowd that entered the foreign ministry was led by a group of retired army veterans who had planned the move before the protest started, according to Youssef Fleeti, one of the ex-officers that led the action.
The protests added to the scores of injured already being treated in the city’s hospitals after last week’s explosion in the port. About 5,000 were injured and at least 148 are unaccounted for, according to Lebanese authorities.
Lebanese Red Cross said it had treated or transported 250 people injured in the protests. The Islamic Medical Organization, which also had first responders at the protests, said an additional 490 had been injured.
Human Rights Watch said security forces indiscriminately beat protesters, fired rubber bullets haphazardly and deployed excessive use of teargas.
Some protesters said the violence by security forces proved the need to keep pushing for change.
“Even now they are injuring people after so many died in the explosion,” said Roy Riachi, a jobless 28-year-old protester in downtown Beirut. “People are fed up.”
Write to Sune Engel Rasmussen at sune.rasmussen@wsj.com
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