Two bombs exploded near the hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was holding meetings in Damascus on July 7, injuring 18 people, including four police officers The blasts occurred in a busy area between Syria’s Tourism Ministry and the National Museum, across the street from the Four Seasons Hotel, where Macron met with civil society representatives during the first visit to Syria by the leader of a major European Union country since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. According to Reuters security sources, the explosions occurred shortly before midnight. Roads around the area were immediately sealed off and security measures were tightened as witnesses reported hearing multiple blasts and seeing smoke rise from the scene. The first explosion occurred shortly after Macron’s motorcade departed for the presidential palace, where he later met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Reuters footage showed flames and smoke rising from a trash bin before a second explosion, captured on camera just meters away, erupted next to an ambulance that had arrived at the scene. Thick black smoke and flames were seen in the vicinity of nearby shops as emergency crews extinguished the fire. Smoke rises after an explosion near the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Syria. (Photo by Yamam Al Shaar / REUTERS)