Lebanese protesters sing 'Baby Shark' to soothe frightened toddler

Protesters started singing the catchy tune after the young boy's mother told protesters her son was scared by the crowd.

Source: Twitter

After days of chanting for revolution and reform, protesters in Lebanon struck up a different tune to soothe a frightened toddler. 

In a heart-warming video, protesters are shown singing to the 15-month-old child after his mother told them he was scared. 

Hundreds of thousands of people have flooded the streets across Lebanon since Thursday, furious at a political class they accuse of pushing the economy to the point of collapse.

Protesters wave Lebanese flags and shout anti-government slogans during a protest in front of Muhammad al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut. Source: EPA

Eliane Jabbour was driving south of the capital Beirut when the protesters surrounding her car began to sing the Baby Shark tune to calm her son Robin. 

Lebanon has approved an emergency reform package in response to protests over dire economic conditions, but the moves have so far not been enough to persuade demonstrators to leave the streets. 

Foreign governments have backed the Lebanese government's reform  Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's office cited the country's UN coordinator Jan Kubis as saying.

France's government said it was encouraging the Lebanese government to push ahead with the necessary reforms to restore the economy.

The Lebanese government has been trying to hose down the biggest protests seen in the country for decades. Source: EPA

"France is attentive to the latest developments in Lebanon. It calls for the preservation of the peaceful nature of the protests and the strict respect of the rights of all Lebanese to protest," foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von Der Muhll said in a statement.

Mr Hariri had recently met ambassadors from the United States, Russia, China, the European Union and the Arab league, his office said.

The ambassadors had urged Lebanon to address the demands of protesters, refrain from using violence against them, and work to curb corruption, Mr Hariri's office added. 

Anti-government protesters hold placards as they protest, in downtown Beirut. Source: AP

Lebanon's banking association has announced that the country's banks will remain closed on Wednesday due to the ongoing civil unrest. 

A proposed tax on mobile messaging applications last week sparked a spontaneous, cross-sectarian mobilisation that has brought Lebanon to a standstill and put the entire political class in the dock.

The reform plan includes a 50 per cent cut in salaries of current and former presidents, ministers and lawmakers, as well as reductions in benefits for state institutions and officials.

Moves by the Lebanese government have so far done little to placate hundreds of thousands of protesters. Source: EPA

It also includes the central bank and private banks contributing $US3.3 billion ($A4.8 billion) to achieve a "near zero deficit" for the 2020 budget.

The government also aims to privatise the telecommunications sector and overhaul the costly and crumbling electricity sector, one of the biggest strains on Lebanon's depleted finances.

A chorus of voices, from union leaders to politicians, has joined calls for Mr Hariri's government to resign.