Macron to visit Syria in first trip by a Western head of state since Assad's fall
The Syrian presidency announced on Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Damascus, without specifying a date. The visit would be the first by a Western head of state since the new authorities took power in late 2024.
The announcement
Syria's presidential media directorate said on Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the country to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest. Macron will be accompanied by a delegation of investors and representatives from French companies, and will hold a roundtable session with President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian delegations. No date was given for the trip.
A diplomatic milestone
If it goes ahead, the visit will be the first by a Western head of state since al-Sharaa's Islamist-led coalition ousted Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The last French president to travel to Syria was Nicolas Sarkozy, who visited in 2008 and 2009 before ties were severed over the Assad regime's violent crackdown on the 2011 Arab Spring protests. Other leaders have already made the journey: Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was the first head of state to meet al-Sharaa in Damascus in early 2025, followed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in January 2026 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in April 2026.
Macron's bet on normalization
Macron was the first Western leader to host al-Sharaa, receiving him at the Élysée Palace in May 2025 despite criticism from right-wing and far-right opponents. That meeting preceded al-Sharaa's even more strategic trip to Washington to see Donald Trump, and the subsequent lifting of EU and US sanctions on Syria.
Emmanuel Macron has been a driving force in the normalization of the new Syrian authorities, he gave al-Chareh a leg up on the international stage.
Quesnay, a Syria specialist affiliated with the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, told AFP that Macron now needs to show the bet was a good one.
- Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visits Damascus, first head of state to meet President al-Sharaa.
- Macron hosts al-Sharaa at the Élysée Palace, the first Western leader to do so.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travels to Damascus.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Syria.
- Syrian presidency announces Macron will visit, date unspecified.
What comes next
The Élysée Palace did not immediately comment on the Syrian announcement. The visit, when it happens, will test the durability of the diplomatic opening Macron championed and could bring French investment into Syria's reconstruction.
