Category: Lebanon

Lebanon is a Republic and a parliamentary democracy in the Middle East.

It gained independence from France in 1943.

After the interfaith civil war that took place from 1975 to 1990, Lebanon amended its 1926 Constitution and reorganized the sharing of power between the different religious communities. The seats of power are distributed among the three majority religions (in proportion to their demographic distribution).

In 2019, Lebanon is experiencing the most serious economic crisis in its history. Inflation has reached 80% and the Lebanese pound has depreciated by 90% against the dollar.

The standard of living of the Lebanese people has fallen drastically: fuel shortages, electricity cuts, difficult access to health care and food…

The revolt began on October 17, 2019, after a tax proposal on the use of Whatsapp and a general tax increase were discussed within the government as the country went through a major economic crisis.  Demands are growing rapidly and the Lebanese people are demanding a true rule of law, free of corruption and social justice.   The demonstrators began by blocking the main roads of Beirut on the night of 17-18 October, then the movement gradually spread throughout the country. The Lebanese president proposed several solutions and even decided on a cabinet reshuffle in January 2020, but the movement continues. On August 4, 2020, the explosion of the port of Beirut accentuates the anger of the Lebanese towards their government, considered in part to be responsible for the explosion due to their mismanagement of the country (negligence).  4 days after the explosion, the demonstrators invade 2 ministries: the Ministry of Economy they will occupy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which will end up in ashes. In the evening, the government resigned again, and the Prime Minister announced that an early election would be held. To this day, the Lebanese are still waiting for these elections. The economic situation is more terrible than ever since accentuated by the health crisis : it now takes more than 30,000 Lebanese pounds to make an American dollar on the black market. Plunged into absolute misery, the Lebanese people do not seem ready to stop the movement.