Bomb blasts injure 18 in Damascus during Macron's historic visit to Syria

Two explosions tore through central Damascus on a Tuesday morning, injuring eighteen people in a district that had been sealed off for a visiting dignitary. The blasts occurred near the Four Seasons hotel, where French President Emmanuel Macron had spent the night and was scheduled to meet with civil society representatives. According to Syria's interior ministry, security forces had discovered two explosive devices—one in a parked car, another in a bin—positioned just outside the perimeter established for Macron's protection. As specialists moved in to defuse them, both devices detonated in sequence.

The first explosion caused material damage but no injuries. When security personnel began sweeping the area afterward, a second blast erupted roughly twenty meters away, this time catching officers and traffic police in the blast radius. Four police officers were among the eighteen wounded. No one was killed. Video footage captured on social media showed the burning vehicle and the second explosion occurring mere meters from the ministry of tourism building. BBC analysis placed the blasts approximately 125 meters from Macron's hotel—close enough to be unmistakable, far enough that the French president did not hear them.

Macron was already at the presidential palace when the explosions occurred, meeting with Syria's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. The French government confirmed he was unharmed and unaware of the incident. No group claimed responsibility, though Syria's interior ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba said investigators had identified "an initial lead" pointing toward those responsible. He also revealed that the devices had been planted only minutes before detonation, suggesting a narrow window of opportunity and raising questions about how they had been positioned so close to a heavily secured zone.

The incident cast a shadow over what was meant to be a symbolic moment. Macron's visit marked the first time a European Union leader had traveled to Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2024. The new government, led by Sharaa—a former al-Qaeda commander from Syria's Sunni majority who had spearheaded the rebel offensive that toppled the dynasty—is attempting to rebuild a nation fractured by thirteen years of civil war and five decades of authoritarian rule. Macron's presence was intended to signal international support for Syria's reintegration into the global economy and political order.

Yet the bombings underscored the fragility of that moment. Syria remains a target for multiple armed groups, including the Islamic State, which has claimed a series of attacks in recent weeks. Just days before Macron's arrival, a bomb at a crowded cafe in Damascus had killed at least nine people and wounded twenty-two. The new government also faces accusations of violence against religious and ethnic minorities, with hundreds killed in such incidents over the past year.

Macron chose not to abandon his schedule. He continued his meetings with Sharaa at the presidential palace, and later the two men appeared together at a joint news conference. "Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria," Macron said in a statement posted to social media. At the press conference, he struck a careful balance: people must support those injured in the bombings and remain uncompromising on security, he said, but "not let ourselves be destabilised." Sharaa, in turn, praised Macron's "courage" for proceeding with the visit.

Beyond security, the visit focused on Syria's economic crisis. Macron had brought French business leaders with him, and the two countries signed fifteen bilateral agreements covering civil aviation, health, banking, and other sectors. The trip underscored how much Syria's new leadership is betting on international engagement and economic reconstruction as tools for stabilizing a traumatized country. The bombings, however, made clear that security threats remain an obstacle to that vision—and that those who oppose Syria's reintegration into the international system are willing to strike at the symbols of that process.