Brussels/Beirut, 28/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Lebanese have been spoiled by having “such a beautiful” country and that beauty pushes them to want to “create an artificial paradise” to the extent that “one constantly wonders not when, but how this bubble will burst,” said the EU representative to Beirut Patrick Renauld in his farewell at the end of his tour of duty. “I've had moments of great happiness, but also moments of great sadness,” he told journalists who had gathered to hear his impressions before leaving his post, which it is believed will go to Patrick Laurent, currently head of unit, with responsibility for the Gulf States. In an interview given to the major Lebanese dailies, Renault said, “What is surprising is that (this bubble) never bursts where one expects it to”. According to L'Orient-le-jour, he said that when he arrived in Lebanon five years ago, he “expected social or economic problems to destabilise the country”, but that had not been the case. Instead, there was the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. He had not noted any progress within the political class and remarked that, “in Lebanon, every individual is a celebrity, that's what makes them all so endearing, but also annoying sometimes”. According to the daily, Renaud gives a “bitter assessment” of his time in Lebanon. “Nothing has changed, you were right,” he is said to have told the leader of the parliament Nabih Berri in a telephone conversation. Berri had previously predicted that no change was possible in Lebanon. However, Renaud was counting on the realisation brought by the war: “The Lebanese realised that the EU was particularly interested in Lebanon”. He said, “Nothing will ever again be like it used to be, because the European political class has understood the extent of its responsibility with regard to the region”.