French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Damascus, becoming the first European head of state to visit Syria since Bashar al-Assad's regime fell in 2024.
Two bombs exploded Tuesday near Macron's hotel, killing 18 people, including four police officers, according to the Syrian Interior Ministry.
The explosions highlight the scale of the security challenges facing Syria, where President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who led the rebellion that toppled Assad, is attempting to rebuild the country after 13 years of war.
Sharaa has forged close ties with Western and Middle Eastern powers that had shunned Assad, though his efforts to build a more inclusive political settlement have been tested by outbreaks of violence between pro-government forces and members of religious and ethnic minority groups.
Hundreds of people were killed in the unrest last year.
Macron's visit
Macron is making the first visit to Syria by a Western European head of state since Syria's new authorities took power in 2024, and he will advocate for "a free, pluralist Syria that respects each of its components" and plays a role in moderating Middle East tensions, the French presidency told journalists ahead of his arrival.
The Élysée Palace said that Macron did not hear the blasts Tuesday, as he made is way to meet Sharaa at the presidential palace, where an economic forum on Syria's reconstruction was due to take place.
The French president is accompanied by a large business delegation, including CMA CGM chief executive Rodolphe Saadé, as well as representatives from Airbus and Thales.
On Monday evening, Macron and Sharaa had dinner together and visited the Umayyad Mosque, where Sharaa had announced he was taking over after the fall of Assad's regime in December 2024.
On Tuesday morning, Macron met representatives of Syrian civil society.
Loaned antiquities
During the visit, Macron will return antiquities loaned to France before the civil war, which began in 2011.
"The president is bringing back to Syria archaeological objects that were loaned to the Arab World Institute in 2010 and which, for obvious reasons, could not be returned to Syria," the Élysée said.
These 23 objects, returned to the National Museum of Damascus, span a period from prehistory through to the Abbasid era.
The visit will conclude with the signing of a number of agreements, including economic and cultural partnerships.
Macron will then travel to Turkey to attend the NATO summit.
