Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Wearing sunglasses indoors, Macron meets representatives of Syrian civil society in Damascus
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France's President Emmanuel Macron (C) speaks as he attends a breakfast to meet with representatives of Syrian civil society in Damascus on July 7, 2026 (Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
Again wearing sunglasses indoors, France’s President Emmanuel Macron attends a breakfast in Damascus with representatives of Syrian civil society.
Macron wore the aviators inside at the Davos conference in January, with officials explaining the French president had a minor medical issue.
Macron landed in Syria yesterday, in the first visit to Damascus by a European Union head of state since rebels led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
The visit underlines Syria’s geopolitical transformation under Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who has established close ties with Western and Middle Eastern powers that shunned Assad, as he seeks to rebuild a country shattered by 13 years of civil war.
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