• The “Depositors Outcry Association” has called for a protest in the vicinity of the Presidential Palace in Baabda, located approximately six kilometers southeast of Beirut, at 13:00 (local time) on December 22. 
• The protest is set to coincide with the Cabinet meeting discussing a draft law on financial regulation and the recovery of deposits and will call on the government to reject it. 

1. The draft law being protested is a proposed Lebanese financial reform bill intended to address the country’s funding shortfall, reportedly amounting to tens of billions of USD. The legislation reportedly seeks to distribute losses across the state, the banking sector, and depositors. It also entails the establishment of mechanisms for the gradual recovery of deposits as part of a broader banking-sector restructuring.
2. The “Depositors Outcry Association” perceives the draft law as a violation of the Lebanese Constitution and existing legal protections for depositors. This highlights ongoing grievances that the proposed framework shifts the burden of the financial crisis onto citizens while failing to hold those accused of involvement in Lebanon’s financial collapse responsible.
3. FORECAST: Given precedent, the slated protest is expected to attract a turnout ranging from the low dozens to mid-hundreds. The protest is likely to transpire peacefully, although anti-government chants and slogans are anticipated. A bolstered security presence is anticipated in the vicinity of the Presidential Palace, and scuffles between demonstrators and police cannot entirely be ruled out. Localized traffic disruptions are expected in the vicinity of the protest from the late morning hours on December 22. 

Those operating or residing in Baabda during the afternoon hours on December 22 are advised to maintain heightened vigilance and allot for travel disruptions due to the slated protest around the Presidential Palace and the associated risk of localized unrest.