Editing Lebanon (section)

=== French Mandate ===
Amidst the height of the [[World War I|First World War]], the [[Sykes–Picot Agreement]] of 1916, a secret pact between Britain and France, delineated Lebanon and its surrounding areas as regions open to potential French influence or control.<ref name=":8" /> After the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] emerged victorious in the war, the [[Ottoman Empire]] ultimately collapsed, losing control over the area. Soon after the war, Patriarch [[Elias Peter Hoayek]], representing the Maronite Christians,  successfully campaigned for an expanded territory at the 1919 [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]], also including areas with significant Muslim and Druze populations in addition to the Christian-dominated Mount Lebanon.<ref name=":8" />

In 1920, King [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal I]] proclaimed the [[Arab Kingdom of Syria]]'s independence and asserted control over Lebanon. However, following a defeat to the French at the [[Battle of Maysalun]], the kingdom was dissolved.<ref name=":8" /> Around the same time, at the [[San Remo conference|San Remo Conference]], tasked with deciding the fate of former Ottoman territories, it was determined that Syria and Lebanon would fall under French rule; shortly afterward, the formal division of territories took place in the [[Treaty of Sèvres]], signed a few months later.<ref name=":8" />

On 1 September 1920, [[Greater Lebanon]], or ''Grand Liban'', was officially established under French control as a [[League of Nations mandate|League of Nations Mandate]], following the terms outlined in the proposed [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon]]. Greater Lebanon united the regions of Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, South Lebanon, and the Bekaa, with Beirut as its designated capital.<ref>{{cite web |author=Beggiani, Chorbishop Seely |title=Aspects of Maronite History (Part Eleven) The twentieth century in Western Asia |url=http://www.stmaron.org/marhist11.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629110712/http://stmaron.org/marhist11.html |archive-date=29 June 2006 |access-date=17 January 2013 |publisher=Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn }}</ref><ref name=":8" /> These specified boundaries later evolved into the present-day configuration of Lebanon. This arrangement was later ratified in July 1922.<ref name=":8" /> The Lebanese Republic was officially proclaimed on 1 September 1926, with the [[Constitution of Lebanon|adoption of a constitution]] inspired by the French constitution on 23 May of the same year. While a Lebanese government was established, the country continued to be under French control.<ref name=":8" />

==== Pressure on German-occupied France ====
[[File:French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon map en.svg|thumb|right|Map of the [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French Mandate]] and the states created in 1920]]

Lebanon gained a measure of independence while France was occupied by Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/glossary.html |website=WWII Behind Closed Doors | title = Glossary: Cross-Channel invasion| access-date = 17 October 2009| publisher = [[Public Broadcasting Service]]| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091028211604/http://www.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/glossary.html| archive-date = 28 October 2009| url-status=dead | df = dmy-all}}</ref> General [[Henri Dentz]], the [[Vichy France|Vichy]] [[High commissioner]] for Syria and Lebanon, played a major role in the independence of the nation. The Vichy authorities in 1941 allowed Germany to move aircraft and supplies through [[Syria]] to [[Iraq]] where they were used against British forces. The United Kingdom, fearing that [[Nazi Germany]] would gain full control of Lebanon and [[Syria]] by pressure on the weak Vichy government, [[Syria–Lebanon campaign|sent its army into Syria and Lebanon]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle that Shaped the Middle East |publisher=Simon & Schuster |last=Barr |first=James|isbn=978-1-84983-903-7|location=London|oclc=990782374|date = 27 October 2011}}</ref>

After the fighting ended in Lebanon, General [[Charles de Gaulle]] visited the area. Under political pressure from both inside and outside Lebanon, de Gaulle recognized the independence of Lebanon. On 26 November 1941, General [[Georges Catroux]] announced that Lebanon would become independent under the authority of the [[Free French]] government. Elections were held in 1943 and on 8 November 1943 the new Lebanese government unilaterally abolished the mandate. The French reacted by imprisoning the new government. Lebanese nationalists declared a provisional government, and the British diplomatically intervened on their behalf. In the face of intense British pressure and protests by Lebanese nationalists, the French reluctantly released the government officials on 22 November 1943, and accepted the independence of Lebanon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barr |first=James |date=10 August 2020 |title=Who are Lebanon's real friends? |url=https://unherd.com/2020/08/who-are-lebanons-real-friends/ |access-date=17 August 2024 |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}}</ref>[[File:Beirut's Martyrs' Square during celebrations marking the release by the French of Lebanon's government from Rashayya prison on November 22, 1943, the day of Lebanon's independence. Adib Ibrahim.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Martyrs' Square, Beirut|Martyrs' Square in Beirut]] during celebrations marking the release by the French of Lebanon's government from [[Rashayya prison]] on 22 November 1943]]