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DAMASCUS: French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Damascus on Monday for the first visit by a Western European head of state since Syria’s new authorities took power in 2024.
Macron, who will depart on Tuesday, will advocate for “a free, pluralist Syria that respects each of its components” and plays a role in moderating Middle East tensions, the French presidency told journalists ahead of the visit. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani welcomed Macron upon arrival, according to a journalist.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa has been rebooting Syria’s international credentials and seeking to revive his struggling country after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
The last French president to visit the country was Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, before Assad brutally crushed pro-democracy protests in 2011, sparking a conflict that killed more than half a million people and devastated Syria’s infrastructure and industry.
