July 7, 2026 / 5:01 AM EDT
/ CBS/AFP
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Damascus — France's President Emmanuel Macron escaped what may have been an attempted assassination Tuesday during a visit to Syria's capital. The French presidential palace, the Elysee, said in a statement that Macron was safe and would continue his visit to Damascus after two bombs exploded outside the hotel where he spent the night. Macron had left the hotel when the explosions took place Tuesday, and he was in the Syrian presidential palace for a meeting with his counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa and their respective delegations, according to the French presidency. State media cited an unnamed security official as saying the blasts were caused by explosive devices, and a source told French news agency AFP that one bomb had been placed in a dumpster and another in a vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel.
Smoke and flames rise from the scene of an explosion near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was staying in Damascus, Syria, in a screengrab obtained from a video, July 7, 2026.
