Macron to become first Western European leader to visit post-Assad Syria

Macron would be accompanied by a delegation of French business leaders and investors, Syria's presidential ​media directorate said Sunday, without giving a date for the visit.

The French presidency did not immediately comment.
Macron would be the first leader of an EU member state to visit Damascus since Assad was toppled in 2024.

The last French president to travel to Syria was Nicolas Sarkozyin 2009, two years before Assad's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests sparked a civil war that killed more than 500,000 people.

Test of France's Syria policy

The visit follows Macron's controversial decision to host the former Islamist rebel leader Sharaa in Paris last year.

It also comes days after a bomb attack on a café in Damascus killed 10 people, highlighting the security challenges facing Syria's new authorities as they try to reunify the country after more than 13 years of conflict.

Analysts say France has been one of the strongest Western backers of Syria's diplomatic rehabilitation following the easing of sanctions imposed during Assad's rule.

"[Macron] gave Sharaa a leg up on the international stage," said Syria specialist Arthur Quesnay, adding that the French leader "needs to show it was a good bet".

EU to ease some sanctions against Syria following Assad's fall

Reconstruction and security

Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat and head of the Nexus MENA think tank, said France was also seeking to secure a role in Syria's reconstruction and regain influence.

Macron's visit "is telling the Americans that we have a share in the Syrian market as much as you have. And we would love to have influence in Syria the way you have", Barabandi said. 

But, he added: "I think they came late and after many mistakes", noting in particular French support for the autonomy of Syrian Kurds.

Talks are expected to cover the fight against the Islamic State group and Syria's treatment of minorities.

Paris has urged Sharaa to honour his pledge to protect minority communities after sectarian violence in Alawite and Druze areas last year.

Macron urges Syrian leader to protect minorities after deadly clashes

Meanwhile France remains concerned about French jihadists still believed to be in Syria.

The visit would mark another step in Syria's return to the international stage.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first foreign head of state to visit Damascus after Assad's fall, while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited this year.

(with AFP)