Two explosions shook an area of Damascus near the downtown Four Seasons hotel on Tuesday, Syrian state media reported, as French President Emmanuel Macron was in the capital for a state visit.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said 18 people were injured in the blasts, among them four police officers, after improvised explosive devices detonated, according to the state news agency SANA.
The ministry said security forces had already located the devices and were preparing to dispose of them when both explosives went off.
The devices had reportedly been hidden in a car and a garbage can near the hotel where Macron was staying. His trip marked the first state visit to Syria by the leader of a Western country since Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa assumed power in 2025 following the removal of former President Bashar al-Assad.
A spokesperson for the Élysée Palace said Macron was not at the hotel when the explosions occurred and did not hear them. Both the Élysée Palace and SANA said the French president continued his schedule with al-Sharaa afterward.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the People’s Palace in Damascus, July 7, 2026. (Reuters/Mahmoud Hassano)
Macron did not directly address the blasts, but he posted a message on X shortly after the incident that underscored the purpose of his visit.
“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,” he wrote.
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa greets supporters after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., NOV. 10, 2025. (Lubna Allababidi/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s Ministry of the Interior confirmed the explosions but stressed that they were outside the security perimeter designated for Macron.
“We confirm that the explosion site is outside the security perimeter designated for the French president’s residence. It posed no direct threat to the residence or the official visit program, which is proceeding as planned,” the ministry announced through SANA.
An ambulance drives past the site where explosive devices blew up near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was meant to be staying, in Damascus, Syria, July 7, 2026. (Reuters/Yamam Al Shaar)
Macron is the first Western leader to meet with al-Sharaa in Damascus since he became the country’s president in 2025. Some have criticized Western leaders, including President Donald Trump, who hosted al-Sharaa in the White House in November, for normalizing relations with al-Sharaa given his past as a fighter for the al Qaeda terrorist group.
Tuesday’s explosions in Damascus were also the second and third major blasts in Damascus in less than a week.
On Monday, France’s government condemned what it called a “terrorist attack” after an explosive device killed at least nine people in a Damascus cafe on July 2.
Syrian authorities are still investigating the attack and have not publicly ascribed it to any group or individual, according to The Washington Post.
INC News contacted the Syrian Foreign Ministry and Élysée Palace for confirmation and further details.
