As far as allegories to dance movements go, the Paris III conference was a grand ballet. President Jacques Chirac pirouetted as leading man and the 37 assembled nations and multilateral institutions performed their numbers for the guests of the hour, namely the Lebanese delegation of Prime Minister Fuad Seniora and his cabinet confidantes. By the evening of Jan. 25, the meeting had it all: grants, project-tied aid for social, educational, and infrastructure projects, and soft loans at advantageous conditions. Ranging in size from $1 million donations by Latin American, Eastern European, Asian, and Arab countries to a $1.1 billion commitment by Saudi Arabia, the total result of the aid meet was amazingly close to the $8 billion need estimate that government economists in Beirut had circulated several months ago when the Paris III preparations were starting to take shape. The commitments flowed with ease and elegance. Speakers from countries around