Turning 100: Lebanon, a nation branded by upheaval, crises

On Aug. 4, a massive explosion at Beirut’s port killed at least 190 people and injured thousands — the culmination of decades of accumulated crises, endemic corruption and mismanagement by an entrenched ruling class.Facing potential bankruptcy and total collapse, many Lebanese are marking the centennial with a feeling that their experiment as a nation has failed and questioning their willingness to stay in the crisis-riddled country.“I am 53 years old and I don’t feel I had one stable year in this country,” said prominent Lebanese writer Alexandre Najjar. Israel’s 1982 invasion and the attacks on the Americans marked the rise of what later became the militant group Hezbollah.After the civil war ended in 1990, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia was the only one allowed to keep its weapons because it was fighting Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon. Even after seven decades of Lebanese independence, France still wields strong influence on the tiny Mediterranean nation.Two days after the port blast — with Lebanese leaders totally absent — Macron visited Beirut and toured one of the most heavily damaged neighborhoods to a hero’s welcome, with some chanting “Vive La France.”More than 60,000 signed a petition to place Lebanon under French mandate for 10 years, an idea Macron firmly dismissed.