French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Collected

DAMASCUS, July 5, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Syria on Sunday said it was expecting a 
visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, the first by a Western European 
head of state since the 2024 toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

State news agency SANA, citing the Syrian presidency's media office, said 
"Macron is expected to visit Syria to discuss ways of strengthening bilateral 
relations and issues of common interest", without specifying a date for the 
trip.

It said he would be accompanied by a delegation "including investors and 
representatives of French companies" as part of efforts to strengthen 
economic cooperation.

Discussions would also address "regional and international" developments, it 
added.

The last French president to visit was Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, before 
Assad's government brutally crushed pro-democracy protests in 2011, sparking 
a prolonged conflict that killed more than half a million people and 
devastated Syria's infrastructure and industry.

Early last year, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani became the 
first foreign head of state to visit Damascus after the new authorities led 
by President Ahmed al-Sharaa took power.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen visited in January this year, 
and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky followed in April.

But Macron is the first head of an EU state and prominent Western leader to 
head to the Syrian capital, after hosting Sharaa in Paris last year.

The announcement came after a bombing on Thursday at a Damascus cafe killed 
10 people, the latest challenge to Syria's new authorities as they seek to 
reunify the country after more than 13 years of civil war.