Beirut crowds call for the 'fall of the regime' as Macron visits following explosion

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Beirut on Thursday following a devastating explosion, and he was surrounded by crowds calling for the "fall of the regime" in the country.

Macron said the explosion on Tuesday, which killed at least 135 people, should be "the start of a new era" and that "political change" is needed, as crowds chanted "revolution" and "the people want the fall of the regime," Reuters reports.

Nearly half of Lebanon lives below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate is more than 30 percent. Macron previously said in January that France would "do everything" to help Lebanon during "this deep crisis that they are going through." The massive explosion in Lebanon's capital this week is believed to have been caused by ammonium nitrate that was stored in a warehouse.

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Macron was the first foreign leader to visit Beirut since the tragedy, according to NBC News. During the visit, the French president pledged he will "propose a new political pact in Lebanon," per Axios, saying he'll "be back in September, and if they can't do it, I'll take my political responsibility."