French rule over Syria and Lebanon was premised on a vision of a special French protectorate established by centuries of cultural activity; archaeological, educational and charitable. This vision translated into a meaning of the mandate as colonial protectorate, integrated into the French Empire. Initial French methods of organising and supervising cultural activity sought to embrace this vision and to implement it in the exploitation of antiquities, the management and promotion of cultural heritage, the organisation of education and control of the public opinion among literate classes. However, in-depth examination of the first five years of the League of Nations-assigned mandate reveals that French expectations of a protectorate were quickly dashed by consistent and widespread contestation of their mandatary methods within cultural institutions, not simply among Arabists but so too among minority groups initially expected to be loyal clients. The violence of imposing the mandate de facto, starting with a landing of French troops in the Lebanese and Syrian Mediterranean coast in 1919 and followed by extension to Syria “proper” in 1920 was followed by consistent violent revolt and rejection of the very idea of a mandate over local peoples. Examining the cultural institutions’ role reveals less violent yet similarly consistent contestation of French meanings ascribed to the mandate by challenging their methods of executing it. Tracing the mandate administrators’ and surveillance and diplomatic apparatus’ point of view, this analysis shows the significant pressure put on French expectations through contestation of such policies as the exportation of antiquities, the expansion of French instruction over Arabic learning, the censorship of the press. This did not quite unite the infamously tapestry-like stakeholders within and without Syria on a nationalist or even anti-imperialist framework. Yet there was a unity in contesting mandatary methods precieved to be transforming the meaning of a League of Nations mandate. The political and de jure discourses emerging after the tragedy of World War I fostered expectations of European tutelages that prepared local peoples for autonomy and independence. Yet, even among the most Francophile of stakeholders, the unfolding of the first years of mandate rule brought forth de facto, entirely different events and methods. In conjunction with the ongoing violent refusal to accept even the premise of a French mandate, this contestation, partly occurring through cultural institutions, contributed to a fundamental reduction of French expectations in the formative five years. An in-depth horizontal and synchronic analysis of the shifts in discourses, attitudes and activities unfolding in French and locally-organised cultural institutions such as schools, museums and newspapers thus signals the need for mandate studies to give greater consideration to shifts in international and local meanings, methods and capacities rather than treating it as a single unit of analysis.

Les deux pays choisis se différencient par rapport à leurs processus d’orientation, et par rapport au critère selon lequel se fait cette orientation. L’orientation constitue un choix qui est un indicateur de la motivation qui est un élément central et déterminant de la réussite scolaire. Nous étudions l’importance du choix dans l’orientation et les types de motivation de l’élève, ainsi que l’importance de la motivation dans la réussite scolaire. Puis nous étudions l’influence de l’orientation sur la réussite scolaire et la clarté des perspectives d’avenir professionnel. Nous avons appliqué une méthode quantitative fondée sur un questionnaire administré auprès de 227 élèves en France et 289 élèves en Syrie. Nous avons trouvé des relations de dépendance entre l’orientation par manque de bons résultats et le type de la motivation d’une part et la clarté des perspectives d’avenir professionnel des élèves d’autre part. / The two selected countries differ with respect to their Options process, and report to the criterion that takes this approach.The Options process is a choice which is an indicator (a measure) of motivation which is a central element and determiner of success at school. We study the importance of choice in the Options process, and the types of student motivation, as well as the role of motivation in academic success. Then we study the effect of the Options process on academic success and the clarity of perspectives on career prospects. We applied a quantitative method based on a questionnaire carried out among 227 students in France and 289 students in Syria. We found a dependant relationships on Options advice through the lack of good grades and the type of motivation on one hand and clarity of professional future prospects of students on the other.