Damascus, Syria
Two explosions took place in Damascus on Tuesday near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was staying, wounding at least 18 people, on the second day of the French leader's visit.
AFP journalists heard at least one blast echo through Damascus before seeing a plume of smoke rising near the Four Seasons Hotel, with security forces closing a road and ambulances heading to the scene.
A Syrian security source told AFP that one of the bombs was placed in a dumpster and the other in a vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel.
The blasts wounded 18 people, including four police officers, Syrian state media said.
The French president had already left the hotel to go to the presidential palace, where an AFP team saw him arrive for a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa.
An AFP photographer near the tourism ministry, opposite the hotel, saw windows damaged by one of the explosions, amid a heavy security presence.
"I saw three traffic police officers injured on the ground, before the area was evacuated and the roads leading to it were closed," Hamam Hammoud, a 37-year-old employee at a money exchange company, told AFP.
- Macron at palace -
The blasts came moments before Syrian state television announced Macron's arrival at the palace.
The French president, the first Western European leader to visit Syria since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, would continue his trip, France's Elysee Palace said.
Macron is meeting with Sharaa to discuss post-war reconstruction and reiterate his call for "unity" and "plurality", having also met with civil society representatives.
The explosions are the second since Thursday, when 10 people were killed in a bombing in a Damascus cafe.
The French president had postponed announcing the date of his visit to Damascus until his plane landed on Monday, for security reasons.
After the meeting with Sharaa, Macron was scheduled to take part in an "economic forum focusing on Syria's reconstruction and strategic corridors".
He is being accompanied by several key economic players including Rodolphe Saade, chief executive of maritime transport giant CMA CGM, and TotalEnergies head Patrick Pouyanne.
The last French president to visit the country was Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, before Assad brutally crushed pro-democracy protests in 2011, sparking a conflict that killed more than half a million people and devastated Syria's infrastructure and industry.
In May 2025, Macron hosted Sharaa on his first official visit to a European country, a move that preceded the Syrian leader's trip to Washington last year to meet US President Donald Trump.
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Max Johnson
Sad to see more innocent people getting caught in the middle of violence. I really hope those who were injured recover quickly and that the situation doesn't escalate any further. News like this is a reminder of how important peace and stability are for everyone. <a href="https://browinner.cz/" rel="nofollow ugc">browinner casino</a>
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Claudeb Iahhan
The timing makes the incident especially disturbing, with the explosions occurring near a major hotel during a high-profile diplomatic visit. The fact that police and civilians were among the injured shows how quickly a political flashpoint can turn into a danger for ordinary people. Hopefully the situation can be stabilised without further escalation. For a little extra browsing: https://gamrfirst-schweiz.com/.
Gabe Mallow
That’s a very disturbing situation, especially with the explosions happening so close to where Macron was staying. It’s fortunate that he had already left the hotel, although 18 people being injured is still a serious reminder of how dangerous the situation remains. The reports of damaged windows and injured police officers make the incident feel particularly close to the civilian population. I also came across https://afk-spins.cz/payments while browsing, but the developments in Damascus are obviously the more important thing here. Hopefully the investigation can establish what happened and those injured make a full recovery.
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