Bombs Wound 18 Near Macron's Damascus Hotel

The bombings cast a shadow over a visit heavy with symbolism. Macron is the first major Western leader to travel to Damascus since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, and his talks with al-Sharaa were widely read as recognition of Syria's new government. Al-Sharaa, a former commander of an Islamist faction with roots in al-Qaeda, has worked to distance himself from that past and to present the country as stable and open for business. France has been among his strongest Western backers, lobbying for sanctions relief. Yet security remains fragile: no group claimed responsibility, and only days earlier a blast at a crowded Damascus cafe killed at least nine people.

Undeterred, Macron pressed on, later appearing beside al-Sharaa at a news conference where the Syrian leader praised his "courage" for continuing. On social media, Macron wrote that "nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic and united Syria," adding that his trip would go on. The two governments agreed to appoint ambassadors, restoring ties France severed in 2012, while his business delegation signed more than a dozen agreements spanning aviation, banking, health, and rebuilding water and electricity networks. For a nation where roughly 90% of people live in poverty after more than a decade of war, the deals offered a fragile promise of recovery — overshadowed by a reminder that violence still stalks the capital.