Two bombs detonated and wounded 18 people in Damascus on Tuesday shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron left his hotel for meetings with Syria’s new president.
The blasts went off shortly after Macron’s motorcade left the Four Seasons hotel for the presidential palace, where he met with Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa. Macron’s office said the French president did not hear the explosions, and his visit continued as planned.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said security forces had identified two improvised explosive devices near the Ministry of Tourism and were preparing to dismantle them when they detonated. One device had been placed inside a vehicle parked along the road, while the other was hidden in a trash container, officials said.
Authorities said the bombs were outside the security zone designated for Macron’s residence and did not pose a direct threat to the French president or his official schedule. Four police officers were among those wounded, according to Syrian state media.
Footage from the scene showed smoke rising over the capital and a vehicle engulfed in flames as emergency crews responded. Reuters footage captured smoke and fire billowing from the site, while the second explosion went off near an ambulance that had already arrived at the scene.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, and Syrian officials said search operations were underway to identify those behind it.
The explosions came during a politically significant visit for both France and Syria. Macron traveled to Damascus as Syria’s new government works to rebuild diplomatic ties and stabilize the country after more than a decade of civil war. Sharaa, who once commanded an al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgent group before breaking with the organization, has sought closer relations with Western governments while pledging to build a more inclusive post-Assad order.
Macron was accompanied by French business leaders, including executives from TotalEnergies and shipping giant CMA CGM. His visit focused not only on diplomacy but also on reconstruction, as France signaled willingness to help rebuild Syria’s economy and banking sector.
The Élysée said CMA CGM signed a partnership agreement with Syria that included air cargo freight handling at Damascus airport. France and Syria also agreed to begin the process of returning €51 million in assets that had been confiscated from Rifaat al-Assad, the late uncle of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
The visit marked a sharp diplomatic shift for a country that had been isolated by much of the West during Assad’s rule and the civil war that devastated Syria for more than a decade. Macron had previously pushed for the lifting of Western sanctions on Syria after Assad’s fall, and his trip to Damascus was intended to signal France’s support for the country’s new political direction.
In a post on X after the explosions, Macron said nothing could undermine Syrians’ desire to live in a sovereign and secure country. He added that he had met Syria “in all its diversity” and saw “dignity, courage, and determination.”
The bombings also came just days after another deadly explosion in Damascus. Last week, a bomb at a central café killed at least nine people and wounded about 20 others. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that attack either.
The Islamic State, which fought against Sharaa during Syria’s civil war, has claimed several attacks against government forces since February, when the terror group announced what it described as a new phase of operations against the Syrian government. Authorities have not publicly linked the group to Tuesday’s explosions.
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