Nadene Goldfoot
France held the mandate over Syria (which then included Lebanon) following World War I, formally assigned by the League of Nations on September 29, 1923. Though British troops initially occupied the area in 1918, the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement and 1920 San Remo Conference finalized the region as a French sphere of influence..
While the mandate framework was designed for long-term administration, it officially lasted from 1923 until Syria's independence was recognized, with final French troops withdrawing in 1946, 2 years ahead of the British over Palestine."
- State of Aleppo: Existed from 1920–1924, on Jan 1, 1925 it joined with the State of Damascus to create the State of Syria. Majority of the population were Sunni Muslims. Its capital was Aleppo, which also included Christian and Jewish communities. The state also had Shiite, Alawite, Kurd and Assyrian minorities.
- State of Damascus: Existed from 1920 to 1924, on Jan 1, 1925 it joined with the State of Aleppo to create the State of Syria. The population was 75% Sunni, with Christians being the next largest group at 11%. Other minorities included: Ismailis, Mutawalis, Jews, Alawites, Druze and a large number of foreigners. Its capital was Damascus, which would become the capital of the State of Syria.
- State of Jabal Druze: Existed from 1921-1936, after 1936 it joined the Syrian Republic. It was set-up as a state for the Druze, who are neither Muslims nor Christians but have a religion based on the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Akhenaten, Hamza, and Al Hakim. Its capital was As-Suwayda.
- State of Alawites: Existed from 1924-1936, after 1936 it also joined the Syrian Republic. It was created for the Alawites, followers of a sect of Shia Islam. Its capital was Latakia.
- State of Greater Lebanon: Existed from 1920-1926, succeeded by the Lebanese Republic. Created by the French as state for the Maronite Christians of Lebanon, but it also included a large number of Muslims. Its capital was Beirut, which had a large Muslim population.
The League of Nations mandate system was supposed to differ from colonialism, with the governing country intended to act as a trustee until the inhabitants were considered eligible for self-government. At that point, the mandate would terminate and a sovereign state would be born.
With the defeat of the Ottomans in Syria, British troops, under General Sir Edmund Allenby, entered Damascus in 1918 accompanied by troops of the Arab Revolt led by Faisal, son of Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz. Faisal established the first new postwar Arab government in Damascus in October 1918, and named Ali Rikabi a military governor. The Arabs hoped, with faith in earlier British promises, that the new Arab state would include all the Arab lands stretching from Aleppo in northern Syria to Aden in southern Yemen. On 8 October, French troops disembarked in Beirut and occupied the Lebanese coastal region south to Naqoura (the western zone), replacing British troops there. The French immediately dissolved the local Arab governments in the region. France demanded full implementation of the Sykes–Picot Agreement, with Syria under its control. On 26 November 1919, British forces withdrew from Damascus to avoid confrontation with the French, leaving the Arab government to face France. Just as they have done in other situations like WWII, the French leave earlier than expected. Here the British didn't pull out till the mandate ended on May 14, 1948. 
Dr Weizmann and King Faisal in Paris 1919
At the Paris Peace Conference, which established the terms of peace following World War I, formally opened on January 18, 1919, in Paris, France. While major decisions were largely finalized by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, the conference officially continued until January 21, 1920. Faisal found himself in an even weaker position when the European powers decided to renege on the promises made to the Arabs. Throughout the early period of colonial administration, collaboration persisted between British and French authorities in the region, in fulfillment of economic interests of both parties in the region, such as in the establishment of a customs-free zone for goods produced within the British and French controlled territories. 
Fayṣal bin Ḥusayn bin ʻAlī al-Hāshimī; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was a Hejazi statesman who served as the King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 until his death in 1933. Faisal was born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire (in present-day Saudi Arabia), in 1885, the third son of Hussein bin Ali, the Grand Sharif of Mecca.
A member of the Hashemite family, he was a leader of the Great Arab Revolt during the First World War, and ruled as the unrecognized King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria from March to July 1920 when he was expelled by the French.
Unrest erupted in Syria when Faisal accepted a compromise with French Prime Minister Clemenceau. Anti-Hashemite demonstrations broke out, and Muslim inhabitants in and around Mount Lebanon revolted in fear of being incorporated into a new, mainly Christian, state of Greater Lebanon. A part of France's claim to these territories in the Levant was that France had been acknowledged as a protector of the minority Christian communities by the Ottoman Empire.In Beirut, the Christian press expressed its hostility to the decisions of Faisal's government.
Lebanese nationalists used the crisis against Faisal's government to convene a council of Christian figures in Baabda that proclaimed the independence of Lebanon on 22 March 1920. Arriving in Lebanon, the French were received as protectors by many Maronite Christians, who saw their rule as a step toward autonomy, but in the rest of Syria, the French faced widespread resistance.
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