French people in Lebanon
French people in Lebanon are French citizens resident in Lebanon, including many binationals and persons of mixed ancestry. French statistics estimated that there were around 23,000 French citizens living in Lebanon in 2020. There are neither official Lebanese statistics nor any scientific information regarding their spoken languages and supposed religious affiliations.
History
In the 13th century, the king of France, Louis IX pledged to protect the Maronites. In the 16th century, Francis I of France forged an alliance with the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent; the Ottomans controlled the region and granted the French monarch the role of "protector of eastern Christians". In the 19th century, French Jesuits established schools in Lebanon as well as Saint Joseph University, established in 1875. According to Alex Issa, the French played a major role in the education of the Christian elite of Lebanon, amongst other things, teaching the elites French history and the French language. After the defeat of the Ottoman empire in the First World War, a French mandate was established over Lebanon in the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920. In 1943, Lebanon became independent from France. In 1989 following Syrian attacks on Lebanon, France sent an armada to protect 6000 French citizens according to the French government and according to the New York Times, unofficially to protect the Christian population of Lebanon.Political representation
For the elections at the Assembly of [French Citizens Abroad], Lebanon is part of the Beirut electoral district, including also Syria, Iraq and Jordan, where there are small French communities. The three representatives elected on 18 June 2006 are all members of right-wing groups in the Assembly: Jean-Louis Mainguy, Denise Revers-Haddad and Marcel Laugel.For the June 2012 French legislative election, Lebanon is part of a large constituency for French residents overseas, the tenth, including Central, Eastern and Southern Africa and much of the Middle East. On December 31, 2011, there were 21,428 registered French electors in Lebanon out of 147,997 for the whole constituency. Out of 11 candidates presently known, only two are – at least partially – living in Lebanon, none from the two main parties.