Conflict Incident Report

BEIRUT: Protesters gathered in Beirut to demand the privatization of the national electrical company.

“Ending the corruption and the squandering [of public funds] starts by closing Electricite du Liban,” one sign read.

During the gathering at Mar Mikhael Street in Beirut's Ashrafieh neighborhood, protesters brandished the flags of Lebanese Option party and raised placards calling for the privatization of the state-owned elergy grid as a means to reduce the electricity bill.

The protesters also said that privatizing EDL would fund the $800 million salary scale bill that had reached a deadlock in the Cabinet and the Parliament.

While an intended tax increase was meant to fund the new wage hike for the public sector employees, the move was met with wide-scale rejection.