Mount Lebanon becomes part of France

As far as I understand the reason why Lebanon was given its present borders was strategic, that is, if it had only included areas with a Christian majority, it would have been more difficult to defend. But what if Mount Lebanon had instead become part of France? Wouldn´t this have given them a sufficient military protection, especially after France became member of NATO?
 
Hardly doable : even without the "interregnum" when France was occupied by Germany that really made the 1943's decision unavoidable, you had too much of a patriotic ideology in Lebanon right since the 20's to have any movement in favour of joining France (assuming French government accepts : IOTL Gabon was ready to do so, but was eventually asked to get its independence no matter what).
 
As far as I understand the reason why Lebanon was given its present borders was strategic, that is, if it had only included areas with a Christian majority, it would have been more difficult to defend. But what if Mount Lebanon had instead become part of France? Wouldn´t this have given them a sufficient military protection, especially after France became member of NATO?

I've wondered about this too and wondered if it was ever considered; seems like it may have been the best solution, at least for Lebanon, in the long-term. Mt Lebanon plus Beirut as a French Department D'Outre-Mer.
 
Hardly doable : even without the "interregnum" when France was occupied by Germany that really made the 1943's decision unavoidable, you had too much of a patriotic ideology in Lebanon right since the 20's to have any movement in favour of joining France (assuming French government accepts : IOTL Gabon was ready to do so, but was eventually asked to get its independence no matter what).

Didn´t the Maronites feel closer to the French than to the Arabs? I got the impression that they were quite Westernized. After all the different religious groups did not seem to be particularly fond of each other.
 
As far as I understand the reason why Lebanon was given its present borders was strategic, that is, if it had only included areas with a Christian majority, it would have been more difficult to defend. But what if Mount Lebanon had instead become part of France? Wouldn´t this have given them a sufficient military protection, especially after France became member of NATO?

I actually had something like this in a long-aborted timeline I wrote; a much-abbreviated Lebanon (whose borders only included actual Christian-majority regions) being incorporated into the French Metropole. To be honest, considering how hard they tried to incorporate the Algerian coast, I can definitely see something like this happening. How well it'll stick, I'm not sure. There'll definitely be Syrian agitation to annex it, but a small territory in easily defensible terrain...Syria probably won't risk it as long as the people feel French.
 
Didn´t the Maronites feel closer to the French than to the Arabs?
It's far more complex. Maronites didn't felt wholly separated than the others groups of Lebanon (naming them "Arabs" without distinction is really, really simplyfing the situation : would it be for non-Maronite Christians, you already have many differences), but saw France as the opportunity to create a state on which they could be a political force among the others groups (basically seeing Lebanon as its own entity, where the diversity of denominations and identities made them distinct and separated from Syrians or other arabic nationalities).

Libanisme (on all its forms, such as phénicianisme) was more about the distinctivness of Lebanon, and not at all about being French which was, again, see as an historical opportunity. In fact, Maronites were the first to push for full independence in the early 40's (and basically the Mandate governence was more and more rejected by the 30's).

After all the different religious groups did not seem to be particularly fond of each other.
It may be, if you allow me, because you're having the Civil War still in memory. While inter-war situation in Lebanon wasn't exactly heavenly, the situation was less tensed. Remember that the diversity of Lebanon was actually seen as a proof of Lebanese particularism for Lebanists.

(Of course, there were rivalities, critically with Saadists of the SSNP, that were opposed to Maronites on the grounds of a Pan-Syrian nationalism)
 
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