Emmanuel Macron unscathed after bomb blasts during visit to Syria
by Paul Godfrey · UPIJuly 7 (UPI) -- French President Emmanuel Macron escaped unharmed Tuesday after two improvised bombs detonated in downtown Damascus near the hotel where Macron was staying, injuring four police officers and 14 others.
The devices, one in a car parked near the Four Seasons Hotel and the other planted in a waste bin a little further away, exploded as security forces were attempting to make them safe.
Syria's Interior Ministry said the explosions occurred "outside the security perimeter" set up around the hotel with French officials confirming Macron, who was in Damascus to meet with President Ahmed al-Sharaa, was safe and did not hear the blasts.
They said his meeting with al-Sharaa, the first by any European Union leader, went ahead as planned at the presidential palace.
An investigation into the explosions has been launched, authorities said.
"Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria. This morning I met Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage, and determination. My visit continues," Macron wrote in a social media post.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are the only other two heads of state to visit the country in the more than 18 months since the fall of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad brought an end to a lengthy period of international isolation.
The BBC's Verify unit said both blasts occurred on a main street a little over 400 feet from the hotel, according to its analysis.
Tuesday's incident came five days after at least nine people were killed and 22 were injured when a bomb blast ripped through a busy cafe in Damascus' central Hejaz district on Thursday.
A number of deadly attacks in the past year or so have either been claimed by, or blamed on, Islamic State, including a suicide bombing-mass shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus in June 2025 in which at least 22 people were killed and more than 60 injured.
Former Jihadist fighter Al-Sharaa has been battling to unify the country, contain Islamic State and tamp down deadly sectarian violence between rival religious minorities since coming to power after forcing Al-Assad into exile in December 2024, ending the Al-Assad family's five-decade-long reign.
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