Beirut explosion: Nearly 60,000 sign petition to place Lebanon under French control

Nearly 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for Lebanon to once again be placed under French mandate following the Beirut port explosion that killed 154 individuals and injured over 5,000 others.

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“Lebanon’s officials have clearly shown a total inability to secure and manage the country,” the petition web page read. “We believe Lebanon should go back under the French mandate in order to establish a clean and durable governance.”

The petition, addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron, was published on Wednesday, one day before Macron visited Lebanon.

During his visit, Macron made his way through crowded streets in the capital’s damaged neighborhoods, listening to pleas from survivors and residents urging him not to provide financial support to the government.

Dozens of people chanted “revolution” while others called the Lebanese President Michel Aoun a “terrorist.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, speaks with a woman as he visits the Gemmayze neighborhood, which suffered extensive damage from an explosion, Aug. 6, 2020. (AP)

Lebanon was placed under French mandate in 1923, at the end of the first world war.

The country gained its independence in January 1944, when France transferred the power to the Lebanese government.

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