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Blasts during Macron visit
Two bombs exploded Tuesday morning near the Damascus hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was staying, as he was in the Syrian capital for talks with President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Syria’s Interior Ministry said 18 people were wounded, including four police officers.
Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reported that two explosions occurred in a busy area in the city centre near the Ministry of Tourism and the Four Seasons Hotel, where Macron had stayed the night before.
Syria’s Interior Ministry later said the explosives detonated after Syrian security forces discovered them and dispatched specialists to try to dismantle them, while Reuters reported the blasts were not audible from the presidential motorcade as he headed toward his meeting.
The French president’s office said Macron did not hear the explosions and arrived safely for a meeting with al-Sharaa, and Reuters said Macron had already left the Four Seasons before the blasts.
Al Jazeera reported that the first blast went off in a rubbish bin shortly after Macron’s motorcade had left the hotel for the presidential palace, and the second blast occurred close to an ambulance parked near the Four Seasons while about two dozen people were in the vicinity.
Targeting claims and quotes
Al Jazeera reported that security experts told the outlet that explosive devices may have been placed and timed for when Macron’s entourage was en route to the presidential palace, while Syria’s Interior Ministry said the explosions took place outside Macron’s designated security perimeter and did not pose a direct threat to his residence or itinerary.
Kamal Abdeo, professor and political researcher at the University of Idlib in Syria, said the attack appeared to have targeted Macron and that those responsible had planted improvised explosive devices overnight on roads his convoy would use, adding, "They probably implanted it at night after Macron arrived,".
Syria’s Interior Ministry said authorities were surveilling the area and investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack to discover those responsible, and Al Jazeera reported that no group claimed responsibility.
Macron posted on X after the blasts, saying, "Nothing can smother the aspirations of the Syrian people to live in a fully sovereign, secure, pluralistic and united Syria," and the French president’s office said his visit was continuing.
CNN reported that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa warned those involved in the attack "will be arrested as soon as possible," while also adding, "I salute President Macron’s courage in continuing the visit."
Diplomacy, investors, and risk
The explosions were a setback for Syria’s new rulers, who have sought to project an image of stability and attract foreign investors since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, as Macron continued his visit and state media published pictures of the French and Syrian presidents embracing in the presidential palace.
The Guardian reported that Macron and al-Sharaa announced after their meeting that the two countries would designate ambassadors, a resumption of diplomatic ties after France severed relations in 2012 in response to Assad’s crackdown on protests.
Macron was scheduled to sign memorandums of understanding as the battered country tries to lure investors to help it rebuild after 14 years of war, and Reuters said France intended to stick to its planned schedule for the day before heading to Turkey for a NATO summit.
CNN reported that Macron’s visit comes before he heads to a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, and that al-Sharaa will meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the conference, while the French and Syrian presidents convened in Damascus ahead of the NATO summit.
DW reported that the bombs were placed in a parked car and a garbage bin near the Four Seasons hotel on a busy street near the National Museum, and the incident came just days after 10 people were killed when a bomb went off in a Damascus cafe near the Justice Ministry.
