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Macron visits Beirut devastation

Macron called for urgent support for Lebanon, two days after the incident.

The French president, making the first visit by a foreign leader since the explosion, promised to help organize international aid for Lebanon but said its government must implement economic reforms and crack down on corruption.

At the port, destroyed by Tuesday's giant mushroom cloud and fireball, families gathered seeking news about the missing, amid public anger at the authorities for allowing highly explosive material to be stored there for years in unsafe conditions.

"Beyond the blast, we know the crisis here is serious, it involves the historic responsibility of leaders in place," Macron told reporters.

Lebanese officials have blamed the disaster on a huge stockpile of a highly explosive material stored for years in unsafe conditions at Beirut port.

But many Lebanese people who have lost jobs and watched savings evaporate in a financial meltdown have blamed it on politicians who have benefited from decades of state corruption and bad governance.