Bombings near Emmanuel Macron’s Hotel in Syria… The President “Safe and Sound”, assures the Elysée

AFP journalists report hearing an explosion in Damascus this Tuesday 7th July, when Emmanuel Macron visits the city. The head of state is safe and sound and continues his visit to Syria, assured the Élysée. Witnesses saw smoke rising from an area near the hotel where the French president spent the night, which he had left this morning.

An explosion was heard this Tuesday 7th July 2026 morning in Damascus by journalists from l’Agence France-Presse (AFP) as French President Emmanuel Macron makes the first visit by a leader of a Western power to Syria since an Islamist coalition came to power. Two bombs exploded near the hotel where he spent the night in the center of the capital. According to an initial report revealed by the authorities, eighteen people were injured, including four police officers.

The Élysée reacts

Quickly after the information was revealed, before 10 a.m., the Élysée reacted: the French head of state is safe and sound. He had left the establishment when the explosions occurred.

“My visit continues”, emmanuel Macron then certified on the social network X shortly before noon. Nothing can stifle the aspiration of Syrians to live in a fully sovereign, secure, pluralistic, united Syria he adds. This morning I encountered Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage and determination. “

Witnesses saw smoke rising from an area near the hotel where the French president spent the night in central Damascus, and which he left in the morning for talks at the presidential palace.

A dinner with the Syrian president

Emmanuel Macron’s visit, accompanied by several French business leaders, including those of CMA CGM, Rodolphe Saadé, and TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, came as ten people were killed Thursday in a bomb attack on a cafe in central Damascus. Monday evening, Emmanuel Macron had dinner with the Syrian president in a restaurant in central Damascus before going with him to the famous Umayyad mosque, in the heart of the city.

The move was kept secret until Syrian authorities exposed it. Emmanuel Macron stopped in Damascus on Monday, and was due to hit the road again for the NATO summit on Tuesday 7th July and Wednesday 8th July in Turkey. A historic visit organized in complete discretion: the French president is the first head of state of the European Union to visit Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The dictator was overthrown by the rebels of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an organization led by Ahmed al-Sharaa who became transitional president. The latter was received at the Élysée in May 2025, a sign of France’s desire to support post-Assad Syria despite the jihadist past of its new strongman.