Two improvised explosive devices detonated in central Damascus on Tuesday morning, wounding at least 18 people, including four police officers, as French President Emmanuel Macron conducted the first visit by a major Western leader to Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. The blasts occurred near the Four Seasons hotel where Macron had spent the night, but the French presidency confirmed he had already departed for the presidential palace and did not hear the explosions. His meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the remainder of his official programme continued without interruption.

Syria’s Interior Ministry stated that security forces had detected the two devices—one concealed in a parked car, the other in a rubbish bin—and that they detonated while specialist units were preparing to dismantle them. The ministry stressed that the site lay outside the security perimeter established for the French president’s residence and posed no direct threat to the visit. The Élysée Palace, for its part, said Macron was safe and that the visit would proceed as scheduled. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The explosions mark the second major security incident in the Syrian capital in less than a week, following a bomb attack on a café near the Justice Palace that killed ten people. Viewed from Damascus, the timing of the blasts—coinciding with a high-profile diplomatic engagement—is seen by Syrian officials and regional analysts as an attempt by remnants of the former regime or jihadist cells to undermine the new government’s efforts to project stability and attract international investment. The Islamic State group has claimed a series of attacks on government forces since February, while pro-Assad loyalists have also been accused by Syrian authorities of seeking to disrupt the transitional period.

Macron’s visit was designed to anchor Syria’s political transition within a framework of Western re-engagement and economic reconstruction. He was accompanied by a delegation of French business leaders, including the CEOs of TotalEnergies and shipping giant CMA CGM, and the two sides signed agreements covering port infrastructure, air cargo, and the return of over €50 million in assets confiscated from Rifaat al-Assad. In a joint press conference, Macron said France was ready to help restructure Syria’s banking sector and support its central bank, while al-Sharaa described the visit as a milestone and expressed a desire for France to become Syria’s primary partner. The French president subsequently departed for Ankara to attend a NATO summit, where the Syrian file is expected to feature in his talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.