DAMASCUS, July 6 (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron landed in Syria on Monday, Syria’s state news agency reported, in the first visit to Damascus by a European Union head of state since rebels led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
The visit underlines Syria’s geopolitical transformation under Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who has established close ties with Western and Middle Eastern powers that shunned Assad, as he seeks to rebuild a country shattered by 13 years of war.
“I am here to affirm France’s commitment to the Syrian people. For a sovereign Syria, united in its diversity and at peace with its neighbours. Together, let’s open a new page of stability and peace,” Macron said in a post on X published after his arrival.
He was received at Damascus airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
Syria’s reconstruction is set to be one of the key themes of the trip, and Macron will be accompanied by business leaders including the CEOs of TotalEnergies and French container shipping group CMA CGM, a French presidential official told reporters in a briefing ahead of the visit.
Macron will also stress France’s commitment to a free, pluralistic Syria that respects all of its communities and meet Syrians from all backgrounds and affiliations, the official added.
Sharaa met Macron during a visit to France last year, his first to a European country since toppling Assad. The French president was a leading voice calling for the lifting of Western sanctions that had throttled the Syrian economy and were largely removed last year.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, whose country was a strong backer of the anti-Assad rebellion, was the first foreign head of state to make a trip to Syria after Assad was toppled, visiting in January 2025.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Damascus in January, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met Sharaa during a visit to Syria in April.
(Reporting by John Irish and Makini Brice in Paris; Muhammad Al Gebaly and Menna Alaa El Din in Cairo; Feras Dalatey in Dubai; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alex Richardson)
