Syria says it is expecting Macron — potential first Western head of state to visit since Ahmed al-Sharaa took power

Syrian state media reported on July 5 that Damascus is expecting a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, a development that would mark the first trip to Syria by a Western European head of state since Ahmed al-Sharaa took power in 2024. The state-run news agency SANA, citing the Syrian presidency’s press office, said that “მაკრონი, სავარაუდოდ, სირიას ეწვევა ორმხრივი ურთიერთობების გაძლიერების გზებისა და საერთო ინტერესის საკითხების განსახილველად”. The announcement did not specify dates and there was no immediate comment from the French presidency, according to agencies that carried the report.

SANA said Macron’s delegation would include “ინვესტორები და ფრანგული კომპანიების წარმომადგენლები“ and that discussions would also cover “რეგიონული და საერთაშორისო“ developments. The statement arrived on the same day Syrian authorities confirmed an explosion at a Damascus café that killed 10 people — a reminder of the security and stability challenges facing the country as its new leadership seeks to reunify territories after more than a decade of conflict.

If realized, a Macron visit would break with a long diplomatic freeze between Paris and Damascus. The last French president to visit Syria was Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009; relations deteriorated dramatically after the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad violently suppressed pro-democracy protests in 2011, unleashing a conflict that killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions and devastated the country. Calls for justice and accountability for rights abuses during and after the uprising have been persistent among activists, victims’ families and international rights bodies.

The prospective trip follows a series of high-profile foreign visits to Damascus in the past year as the Syrian government has extended its control over territories once held by diverse opposition and Kurdish forces. SANA’s announcement also referenced the context of last year’s reassertion of government authority in parts of northern and northeastern Syria formerly under Kurdish control, where local Kurdish civil and military institutions agreed to integrate into the Syrian state. Kurdish forces had won international backing during the civil war for their role in combating the so-called “ისლამური სახელმწიფოს”, contributing to the group’s territorial defeat in 2019.

Macron, whose government has itself been targeted by jihadist attacks in France, has expressed particular interest in assurances from Damascus concerning the protection of minority communities after sectarian violence flared last year in central regions inhabited by Alawites and Druze. French officials are also likely to press on counterterrorism cooperation: SANA noted that Syria joined an international coalition against “ისლამური სახელმწიფოს” last year, and Damascus continues to host a small number of foreign jihadists, including some French nationals, on its territory.

The announcement also comes against a diplomatic backdrop in which several other foreign leaders and officials have visited Syria in the past year. In December, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first foreign head of state to visit Damascus since Ahmed al-Sharaa assumed leadership. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited in January, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Damascus in April. The reported Macron visit follows Sharaa’s own trip to Washington last year for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and came after France hosted Sharaa in Paris amid controversy over his reception of a former “al-Qaeda” affiliate who later became a state official.

Humanitarian and rights groups say any moves toward diplomatic normalization should be tied to accountability measures, safe returns for the displaced and enforceable protections for minorities and political opponents. Observers note that while engagement could unlock investment and reconstruction money — SANA highlighted the prospective presence of investors and French companies in Macron’s delegation — it also raises sensitive questions about justice for victims of the 2011 crackdown and the broader course of Syria’s post-conflict political settlement. For now, the announcement remains tentative: no dates have been confirmed and Paris had not immediately responded to requests for comment.