Whatever the motives behind these riots, and whatever direction events and developments in France may take in the coming period, we cannot help but ask: Has Lebanon’s political class, upon which the most appalling labels have rightly been pinned in the case of many, though unfairly in the rare cases of a few, felt deep concern over the turmoil shaking France? After all, Lebanon owes much of its continued existence to France’s past and present roles, to a republic that modeled its Constitution on that of the French Fifth Republic, and, last but not least, to more recent efforts by President Emmanuel Macron, who has stubbornly, and continues to stubbornly, insist on supporting Lebanon and exploring every possible way to help it.
