According to French and Syrian media, an explosion occurred on Tuesday near the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, where French President Emmanuel Macron was spending the night before meeting with the Syrian president.
The Elysée Palace said in a statement that Macron was already in the presidential palace when the explosion occurred and was unharmed. CNN affiliate BFMTV in France reported that he was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel, which is regularly used by foreigners visiting Syria, including diplomats, NGO workers and journalists.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said two explosions occurred while security forces were trying to remove the explosives, injuring 18 people, including four police officers. Authorities have launched an investigation into the explosion, SANA reported.
“Nothing can curtail the desire of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, secure, pluralistic and unified Syria,” Macron said in a post on X shortly after the explosion, although he did not explicitly mention it.
The twin explosions early Tuesday morning came less than a week after another attack in the Syrian capital killed nine people and injured 22 others, according to the Syrian Ministry of Health.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan have condemned it.
Macron is the first Western leader to make an official visit to Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. He is the third head of state to visit Syria during this period, after the emir of Qatar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
President Ahmed al-Shalah, a former jihadist turned politician, welcomed Macron on Tuesday at a lavish reception at the presidential palace in Damascus and declared a “new Syria.” He described the country as “determined to rise again and open the door to those who wish to build in it.”
In a meeting with French and Syrian delegations, including heads of the energy and shipping industries, the Syrian leader touted opportunities for strategic, business and commercial cooperation.
“Syria is strategically located between the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf and Iraq, and is only a few hours by sea from Marseille,” al-Sharah told the roundtable. “After the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the world recognized the value of a safe and stable corridor here.”
According to the SANA news agency, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrault signed a series of agreements on economic cooperation.
The presidents of France and Syria will meet in Damascus ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey’s capital Ankara, which both countries are expected to attend. The White House announced on Sunday that al-Shallah would meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the meeting.
