Syrian media reported Tuesday that a series of explosions occurred in Damascus near the hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron had been staying during a landmark visit to Syria.
According to a report, Macron left the hotel about 15 minutes before the blasts. A security source told Reuters that the explosions were caused by explosive devices. it was later reported that three people were killed and several others were wounded in the explosions. Among the wounded were members of the security forces loyal to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Footage from the scene of the explosion in Damascus
Impact in Damascus
According to the reports, the explosive devices were improvised, and security forces were searching for those involved. A source who spoke to AFP said one device had been hidden in a trash bin, while the other exploded inside a vehicle.
Macron arrived in Damascus on Monday, becoming the first leader of a major Western power to visit Syria in many years, and the first since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. His visit is also the first by such a leader since the Assad regime was ousted in late 2024 and Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly the leader of jihadist rebels, took power.
The visit is seen as the peak of a continuing effort by al-Sharaa to rehabilitate Syria’s international standing, even as Western suspicion remains around his leadership.
Macron is not the first foreign leader to visit Syria since al-Sharaa took power in December 2024. Several Arab leaders have already visited, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Damascus in April. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also visited in January. Still, Macron is the first leader of a major Western power to make the trip.
Macron is received by President al-Sharaa at the presidential palace Tuesday morning, shortly after the explosions
He had already become the first Western leader to welcome al-Sharaa, meeting him at the Élysée Palace in Paris in May 2025, about six months after Assad’s fall, when suspicion toward Syria’s new ruler remained especially high.
Al-Sharaa was previously affiliated with al-Qaeda and was known by the nom de guerre Mohammed al-Golani. He later broke away from the international terror group and led the separate jihadist rebel organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. In December 2024, he led the surprise offensive that rapidly toppled the Assad regime.
Since then, al-Sharaa has appointed himself president without democratic presidential elections having yet been held. He is working to stabilize and rebuild Syria after 14 years of devastating civil war, including by attracting foreign investment and international aid. As part of that effort, he has already secured significant relief from Western sanctions, partly through friendly ties with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has also hosted him at the White House and has frequently described him as a successful leader and even “young and attractive.”
(Photo: Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
Although al-Sharaa has achieved considerable success in branding himself as a moderate leader seeking to build a prosperous Syria that grants full rights to all minorities, Western mistrust remains. That suspicion has been fueled, among other things, by massacres of Alawites and Druze last year by regime forces or fighters loyal to him.
The Élysée Palace said this week that Macron would use his brief visit to promote “a free, pluralistic Syria that respects all its components,” and one that could help “moderate” the high tensions in the Middle East.
The visit also comes as Syria becomes a point of friction between al-Sharaa’s patron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Israel, which insists on remaining in the buffer zone it seized in southern Syria during the fall of the Assad regime.
In the background is also a proposal by Trump under which al-Sharaa’s government would intervene in the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon. France, which is deeply involved in Lebanon, strongly opposes that proposal. The Élysée Palace told AFP that “what we expect from Syria is simply that it respect its neighbor Lebanon.” Macron’s office added that it was satisfied with al-Sharaa’s clarification that he does not intend to invade Lebanon.
Macron came to Syria on his way to a NATO summit in Turkey, which is set to open Tuesday evening in Ankara, where he is expected to meet Trump on Wednesday.
(Photo: Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
The French president was received Monday night at Damascus airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. The French delegation accompanying Macron includes senior business figures, among them CMA CGM CEO Rodolphe Saadé and TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné. They were scheduled to hold discussions on rebuilding Syria and renewing investment there, even as French companies remain hesitant.
Sources close to Macron described his arrival in Syria to AFP as a “courageous” act, saying the French president was “taking a risk” by visiting Syria even “for an evening, a night and a day.” They said he did not intend to confine himself to “fortified” palaces, but wanted to “meet Syrians in all their political and religious diversity, and hear their aspirations.”
Shortly after Macron landed in Damascus, AFP reported that he visited the Great Mosque of Damascus, also known as the Umayyad Mosque, accompanied by al-Sharaa. According to the report, they arrived “in suits and ties” after a meal at a restaurant in the old city of Damascus. For security reasons, the full details of the visit were not disclosed.
First published: 10:35, 07.07.26