A litmus test in Paris

April 6 could be a very good Friday for Lebanon. Not only does it unofficially usher in the fruit season, a symbol of renewal and rebirth, but it is also the day that state officials will pitch a set of large-scale infrastructure projects to the international community and investors at the CEDRE conference in Paris. CEDRE is just one waypoint on a roadmap for rebuilding confidence in Lebanon and stabilizing the economy. Other points along the route were the mid-March security conference held in Rome, and a regional refugee aid conference in Brussels scheduled for later in April. The response at Rome, says Christina Lassen, head of the European Union delegation to Lebanon, “sent a very strong political signal of support” (see interview). Signs of support for Brussels are also positive. The EU commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, told reporters after a late-March visit with