Macron would be accompanied by a delegation of French business leaders and investors, Syria’s presidential \u200bmedia directorate said Sunday, without giving a date for the visit.<\/p>\n
The French presidency did not immediately comment.<\/p>\n
Macron would be the first leader of an EU member state to visit Damascus\u00a0since Assad was toppled in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n The last French president to travel to Syria was Nicolas Sarkozy<\/a> in 2009<\/a>, two years before Assad’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests sparked a civil war that killed more than 500,000 people.<\/p>\n Test of France’s Syria policy<\/p>\n The visit follows Macron’s controversial decision to host the former Islamist rebel leader <\/a>Sharaa in Paris last year.<\/p>\n It also comes days after a bomb attack<\/a> on a caf\u00e9 in Damascus killed 10 people, highlighting the security challenges facing Syria<\/a>‘s new authorities as they try to reunify the country after more than 13 years of conflict.<\/p>\n Analysts say France has been one of the strongest Western backers of Syria’s diplomatic rehabilitation following the easing of sanctions imposed during Assad’s rule.<\/p>\n “[Macron] gave Sharaa a leg up on the international stage,” said Syria specialist Arthur Quesnay, adding that the French leader “needs to show it was a good bet”.<\/p>\n EU to ease some sanctions against Syria following Assad’s fall<\/a><\/p>\n Reconstruction and security<\/p>\n Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat and head of the Nexus MENA think tank, said France was also seeking to secure a role in Syria’s reconstruction and regain influence.<\/p>\n Macron’s visit “is telling the Americans that we have a share in the Syrian market as much as you have. And we would love to have influence in Syria the way you have”, Barabandi said.<\/p>\n But, he added: “I think they came late and after many mistakes”, noting in particular French support for the autonomy of Syrian Kurds.<\/p>\n Talks are expected to cover the fight against the Islamic State<\/a> group and Syria’s treatment of minorities.<\/p>\n Paris has urged Sharaa to honour his pledge to protect minority communities after sectarian violence in Alawite and Druze areas last year.<\/p>\n Macron urges Syrian leader to protect minorities after deadly clashes<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile France remains concerned about French jihadists<\/a> still believed to be in Syria.<\/p>\n The visit would mark another step in Syria’s return to the international stage.<\/p>\n