17 October Revolution
The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution or Hirak or Thawrah (Arabic: ثورة 17 تشرين الأول, romanized: thawrat 17 tishrīn al-ʾawwal, lit. '17 October revolution'), were a series of civil protests in Lebanon that began after the Lebanese cabinet announced financial measures on 17 October 2019. These nationwide protests were triggered by planned taxes on gasoline, tobacco, and VoIP calls on applications such as WhatsApp, but quickly expanded into a country-wide condemnation of sectarian rule, the stagnation of the economy, unemployment (which reached 46% in 2018), endemic corruption in the public sector, legislation that was perceived to shield the ruling class from accountability (such as banking secrecy) and failures of the government to provide basic services, such as electricity, water, and sanitation.