Dictatorships, colonialism, popular uprisings and wars: In the Middle East, the temporary often becomes permanent. Crisis is the norm, and urgency is structural.

Yet despite the violence that shapes both our collective and individual lives, and despite identity fragmentation and a deep lack of hope, our region demonstrates real intellectual vitality. The Arab Spring uprisings of 2010–2011, followed by a new wave of protests in 2018–2019, brought it into sharp focus.

L’Orient-Le Jour aims to highlight that reality through our latest section, Voices of the Middle East, which hopes to build a multilingual space where a range of perspectives on the region can meet, interact and even challenge one another.

In that context, the section will regularly feature opinion pieces written in Arabic and translated into French and English, exploring themes we consider important or original.

This initiative reflects our commitment to our regional roots while remaining true to our Francophone and Anglophone identities and our mission to serve as a bridge between Lebanon and its diaspora.