Macron Becomes First EU Head of State to Visit Syria Following Toppling of Assad

French President Emmanuel Macron has become the first European Union leader to visit Syria since militants led by current Syrian President Ahmed ​al-Sharaa ousted Bashar al-Assad and toppled the Ba’athist regime.Macron landed in Syria on July 6 and was greeted by Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, and then met with al-Sharaa the following day.A French presidential official told reporters ahead of the trip that Syria’s reconstruction would be a key theme of the visit, adding that business leaders, including the CEO of TotalEnergies and container shipping company CMA CGM, would accompany Macron.“I have come to express France’s commitment to the Syrian people,” Macron said in a post on X on Monday. “For a sovereign Syria, united in its diversity and at peace with its neighbors. Together, let us open a new chapter of stability and peace.”The Syrian leader met with Macron in France last year on his first visit to a European country since coming to power at the end of 2024. The country had been subject to Western sanctions, and the French president was leading the call for them to be lifted—most of which were removed in 2025.Al-Sharaa has also formed ties with U.S. President Donald Trump, and last year, his government joined the U.S.-led coalition to fight ISIS.The visit underlines Syria’s geopolitical transformation under al-Sharaa, himself a former jihadi who headed Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which began as Al-Nusra Front, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, the Islamist terrorist group founded by Osama bin Laden.Explosion in DamascusWhile Macron was in Damascus, two bombs exploded on Tuesday in the capital. However, French officials said Macron did not hear the explosions and continued with his scheduled meeting with al-Sharaa.The Syrian Interior Ministry said security forces had identified two devices planted near the Tourism Ministry, one in a trash can and the other in a car parked on the side of the road.They were planted outside a security cordon where the French president was staying, but the ministry said that the devices posed no threat to Macron.At least 18 people were wounded by the blasts.Syrian security personnel inspect a burned vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the area earlier while Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was meeting French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria, on July 7, 2026. Omar Albam/AP PhotoSyrian Security Forces described the bombs as crudely made and were preparing to defuse them when they detonated.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and security forces have launched an operation to identify those behind it, the Interior Ministry said.Hours after the explosions, Macron posted on X that “nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria.”“This morning I met Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage, and determination. My visit continues,” he wrote.Business PartnershipsMacron’s office said that CMA CGM signed a partnership ​deal with Syria, which will include handling ​air cargo freight at the international airport in Damascus.CMA CGM in May signed a contract with Damascus to operate two dry ports in the country.French President Emmanuel Macron (L), Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa (C), and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (R) attend an event at the Economic Forum for Reconstruction in Damascus, Syria, on July 7, 2026. Ghaith Alsayed/ AP PhotoTotalEnergies’ chief executive, Patrick Pouyanne, told reporters that he will meet with the Syrian Petroleum Company on July 7 to discuss signing a contract for offshore exploration in the Mediterranean.“Syria’s ⁠offshore area has never really been explored historically, so we have partnered [with] other companies to look into it. We will discuss it today with our ​Syrian counterparts to ​see whether ⁠we can move toward a contract,” Pouyanne said.“Obviously we’d rather find oil than ​gas, but in the eastern Mediterranean ​most ⁠discoveries so far — in Cyprus and Israel, for example — have been gas.”Syria may become strategically significant for transporting oil. TotalEnergies recently spoke about the need to build pipelines through the country as an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of U.S. military action against Iran.Pouyanne on July 7 also reiterated that Syria has become an important route for transporting oil from Iraq.Reuters contributed to this report.