diff --git a/src/journal-remote/meson.build b/src/journal-remote/meson.build
index 5fdc4cccd7..cbe2be19c7 100644
--- a/src/journal-remote/meson.build
+++ b/src/journal-remote/meson.build
@@ -61,6 +61,6 @@ if conf.get('ENABLE_REMOTE') == 1 and conf.get('HAVE_MICROHTTPD') == 1
         meson.add_install_script('sh', '-c',
                                  mkdir_p.format('/var/log/journal/remote'))
         meson.add_install_script('sh', '-c',
-                                 'chown 0:0 $DESTDIR/var/log/journal/remote &&
-                                 chmod 755 $DESTDIR/var/log/journal/remote || :')
+                                 '''chown 0:0 $DESTDIR/var/log/journal/remote &&
+                                    chmod 755 $DESTDIR/var/log/journal/remote || :''')
 endif