Popular protests swept Lebanon in late 2019 after a viral video of a confrontation between the bodyguards of Parliamentary Minister and citizens protesting proposed tax hikes caused widespread outrage. A night of rioting on October 17 followed by nationwide roadblocks sparked days of protests that saw vast crowds gather in town and city centres around the country.

The protests were remarkable for their scale and national ubiquity but also the absence of sectarian politics: only Lebanese flags were flown and chants denouncing the country's political class in its entirety were prevalent. It finally felt like Lebanon might have an answer to the sectarian status-quo that has effectively stymied any meaningful reform since the end of the civil war in 1990.

As the protests grew to topple the government of Saad al Hariri, they came under fire from the political parties of Lebanon's Shia sect Hezbollah and Amal and their allies, who have come to dominate Lebanon's political structure in recent years. At best this saw thinner crowds on the streets; at worst, violent clashes between protesters and counter-protesters. Supporters of the ousted Hariri added a further sectarian fracture on the designation by the Hezbollah/Amal led bloc of their choice of Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

Whether the protest movement can maintain its path and lead Lebanon away from sectarianism remains to be seen, and unrest continues as Hassan Diab works to name his new cabinet.