French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Syria, marking the first visit by a Western European head of state and major Western leader since the 2024 ouster of Bashar al-Assad. The visit underscores Syria's geopolitical transformation under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who led the rebels to power and has since established close ties with Western and Middle Eastern powers.
Macron and al-Sharaa previously met in Paris in May 2025 at the Élysée Palace, where they discussed security and interreligious violence. During that meeting, Macron pledged to push the United States and the European Union to lift crippling sanctions on Syria, most of which have since been removed. The current visit is intended to further strengthen bilateral relations and address issues of mutual and common interest.
Macron is accompanied by a delegation of investors and business leaders, including the CEOs of TotalEnergies and the French container shipping group CMA CGM. This economic focus comes as Syria seeks to rebuild a country shattered by 13 to 14 years of war that killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions. While other nations and businesses have made large investment pledges, the country still requires hundreds of billions of dollars to restore ruined infrastructure and lift millions of people out of poverty.