Two explosions rocked central Damascus near the Four Seasons Hotel on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, during French President Emmanuel Macron visit to Syria. At least 18 people are reportedly injured including 4 police officers in the twin blasts.
The Elysee Palace confirmed that President Macron is entirely safe and unhurt and is currently staying at the presidential palace. Macron had already departed for the presidential palace to meet with the Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharra, when the blast happened.
French officials claim that Macron did not hear the explosions and his official itinerary will proceed exactly as planned. According to the Syrian security source, one bomb was planted inside a dumpster, while the second device was hidden inside a vehicle. Smokes and flames were seen rising over the city center. This footage circulating on social media showed emergency services working around the vehicle engulfed in flames, with visible blood stains on the street.
Syrian authorities and local security sources report that several people have been wounded and exact figures of casualties are still unverified. So far, no militant group has claimed responsibility for the Tuesday’s attack. Macron has been visiting, the diplomatic visit marks a first, a landmark, the French President’s visit to Syria makes it a diplomatic visit amid the volatile security situation in the Syria. The explosions struck a highly visible busy commercial sector directly between the Syrian Tourism Ministry and the National Museum.
BREAKING: Explosions heard in Syria’s Damascus
Read more: https://t.co/hjKJH8NeYw pic.twitter.com/ObcU3M824U
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) July 7, 2026
The area sits directly across the street from the Four Seasons Hotel, where President Macron was hosting meetings with Syrian civil society groups. According to the live on-the-scene video captured by the Reuters, the attack was carried out in two waves. The first device exploded inside a trash can as the crowd of roughly two dozen local civilians and an ambulance gathered to assist. A second car and second bomb detonated in a car just meters away.
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The French President Emmanuel Macron is in Syria to secure French economic and strategic influence, stabilizing political stability and coordinate regional security. Syria is in dire need of hundreds and billions of dollars to rebuild its shattered infrastructure and the economy.
Macron is traveling with a high-level delegation of French investors and C-suite corporate executives, including the CEOs of energy giant TotalEnergies and shipping company CMA CGM. France wants its companies to secure a major foothold in lucrative Syrian reconstruction contracts. France is also directly coordinating with the Syrian forces to track down remnants of the Islamic State and resolve the ongoing security issues of French jihadis currently capturing or hiding on Syrian soil.
