1935 Lebanon tobacco protests
In June 1935, protests spread through Lebanon and Syria over France’s plan to create a state tobacco monopoly called the Regie. People from many backgrounds joined in: tobacco workers, students, feminist groups, leftist organizations, and Maronite Christians. The protests expressed both economic worries—unemployment and losing work—and a bigger anti‑colonial mood, showing that many people shared national frustration.
The Regie, short for Regie Co-Intéressée Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs, was created in 1935 as France pushed to modernize its territories. Before this, Lebanon’s tobacco market ran under the banderole system (1929–1935), which had few limits on growing tobacco and kept sale and import more loosely organized. Critics argued that this laissez‑faire approach led to overproduction and hurt many tobacco businesses. France said the state monopoly would bring in needed revenue, and a sub‑commission prepared the Cahier des Charges, the rules that would govern the Regie.
When the Regie was announced, leaders including the Maronite Patriarch and groups like the Arab Feminist Union (AFU) urged peaceful protests in June. For a week, workers took to the streets in Beirut, Tripoli, Homs, and Damascus. In Beirut about half of the shop owners joined the protests, and Tripoli’s shops were shut down. Women workers made up the largest group among the protesters. The AFU helped organize a nationwide boycott and called on both women and men to participate, framing the issue as tied to national welfare.
The protests were driven by fears of job losses and displacement. Estimates suggested that 1,500 to 3,000 workers would lose their jobs under the new monopoly. Workers demanded jobs under the Regie and compensation for unemployment from the French authorities. The Cahier des Charges did not automatically transfer workers to the Regie, leaving many at risk of financial instability. The AFU emphasized that women’s welfare was tied to the nation’s well‑being, presenting feminism in nationalist terms.
The 1935 campaign followed earlier discontent. In 1930, hundreds of women tobacco workers protested against rising mechanization, showing an ongoing link between women’s labor activism and resistance to colonial policies. Although the AFU became officially established later (1944), its 1930s efforts helped shape the anti‑Regie movement, highlighting how working women saw colonial rule as part of the exploitation of their labor.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:27 (CET).