French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Damascus on Monday in an unprecedented visit — the first by a major Western head of state to Syria since President Ahmed Al Sharaa assumed power in late 2024, following the ousting of deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
According to the Élysée Palace, Macron intends during his visit, which runs until Tuesday, to call for "a free and pluralistic Syria that respects all its components" and that plays "a role in de-escalating tensions" in the Middle East.
France chose not to announce Macron's visit before his aircraft landed, most likely for security reasons, at a time when Syria continues to face multiple challenges in its efforts to establish security and stability after 13 years of devastating civil war, and just days after an explosion targeted a café in Damascus on Thursday, killing 10 people.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani received the French president upon his arrival in the Syrian capital.
This is the first visit by a French president to Syria since former President Nicolas Sarkozy's second visit in 2009, before a rupture between the two countries that followed the previous regime's bloody crackdown on protests that erupted in 2011 and quickly escalated into a devastating conflict that claimed more than half a million lives.
Macron is the first head of state from a European Union member country to travel to Damascus since Assad's ousting. He was also the first Western leader to receive Al Sharaa in Paris in May 2025, despite criticism from a number of his right-wing and far-right opponents over the Syrian president's jihadist past.
Following Paris, Al Sharaa visited Washington in November, where he met US President Donald Trump — a visit that was followed by the lifting of European and American sanctions on Syria.
Syria's official state news agency SANA described Macron's visit to Damascus on Monday as "historic," calling it "a pivotal juncture in Syria's path to reclaiming its international presence, embodying the transition of Syrian-French relations to a new phase based on mutual respect and equitable partnership."
French companies
Accompanying the French president on his visit are a number of senior executives from major French corporations, including CMA CGM Chairman Rodolphe Saadé and TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné, to explore avenues of cooperation in the reconstruction phase and the resumption of investment, at a time when French corporate engagement in Syria remains limited.
After the new authorities came to power, Syria signed a 30-year contract with CMA CGM in May 2025 to develop and operate the port of Latakia, worth 230 million euros.
In May 2026, Syria signed a memorandum of understanding with American ConocoPhillips, French TotalEnergies, and Qatari QatarEnergy to explore for oil and gas in Syrian territorial waters.
Macron is scheduled to hold talks with his Syrian counterpart on Monday evening in an "informal" setting, ahead of formal talks on Tuesday to be followed by a press conference, according to sources close to the French president.
The Élysée Palace stressed that "the new Syria will only be our partner on the condition that its pluralism is fully taken into account," affirming at the same time that Paris is "firm" in its demand on this point, adding: "There is no room for one exclusionary authority to replace another."
Al Sharaa has repeatedly pledged to protect minorities. However, the sectarian violence that erupted on the Syrian coast — home to an Alawite majority — in March 2025, and the bloody clashes with Druze fighters a year ago in the southern province of Sweida, have left these communities with widespread concerns about security and political guarantees during the transitional period.
Among the major issues the two sides will discuss are efforts to combat the Islamic State organisation, in which Syria has fully engaged by joining the Washington-led international coalition, as well as the presence of French jihadists in Syria.
France was struck in 2015 by major attacks claimed by the extremist organisation and planned from Syria. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which received Western backing including from France, spearheaded the fight against the group. Until recently they controlled vast swathes of northeastern Syria, before signing a merger agreement with Damascus earlier this year.
Former French ambassador and expert at the French Institute of International Relations Denis Bouchard believes the visit also reflects Macron's desire to "strengthen the new order in Syria, at a time when Israel is doing everything it can to keep Syria weak and fragmented," alongside "its wariness of Turkish influence" supporting Al Sharaa.
After Damascus, Macron will travel to Ankara on Tuesday evening to attend the NATO summit, where he will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday. The Syrian file is expected to feature prominently on the agenda between them, as Al Sharaa is also set to meet his American counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit.
Paris is also making no secret of a clear divergence with the desire Trump has repeatedly expressed for Syria to play a role in Lebanon in "dealing" with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The Syrian president had affirmed that he has no intention of intervening in Lebanon. The French presidency said: "What we simply expect from Syria is that it respects its neighbour Lebanon," while at the same time expressing satisfaction with the positions Damascus has declared on this matter.