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France-Syria relations

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, July 7, 2026. (AP/Ghaith Alsayed)
July 7, 2026, 2:58 pm
Explosions rock Damascus, wounding 18, near visiting French President Macron’s hotel
Twin blasts hit just as Macron meets in palace with counterpart Sharaa; meeting goes ahead as planned; no claim of responsibility
By AP and ToI Staff
France's President Emmanuel Macron (2nd L) speaks with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R) next to France's Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) during a bilateral meeting at the Damascus International Airport in Damascus on July 6, 2026. (Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
July 6, 2026, 9:21 pm
Macron arrives in Syria for first post-Assad visit by West European head of state
French president says he came to show commitment to Syrian people, seek a ‘Syria, united in its diversity,’ and at peace with its neighbors
By Agencies and ToI Staff
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) shakes hands with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa after a joint press conference following a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 7, 2025. (Stephanie Lecocq / POOL / AFP)
July 5, 2026, 8:21 pm
Syria expecting Macron in first post-Assad visit by Western head of state
Damascus says French, Syrian presidents will discuss ‘issues of common interest,’ but gives no date for trip and Paris does not immediately confirm
By Acil Tabbara and Francesco FONTEMAGGI
UK Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s take part in a joint strike operation with France on an underground facility in Syria that had likely been used by the Islamic State group to store weapons on January 3, 2026. (UK Defense Ministry via AFP)
January 4, 2026, 1:02 pm
British, French warplanes strike suspected ISIS weapons stockpile in Syria
Overnight strike on underground facility near Palmyra was meant to prevent any resurgence of Islamist group and posed no risk to civilians, say allies
By AFP
A facility of French industrial cement supplier Lafarge, in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 2021. (Ed Jones/AFP)
November 4, 2025, 12:52 pm
French cement maker Lafarge goes on trial on charges of financing jihadists in Syria
Unprecedented case alleges millions given in payments to Islamic State and al-Nusra Front in 2013-2014; former executives could face up to 10 years in prison
By Reuters
Troops of the Israeli Air Force's elite Shaldag unit are seen atop the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, in a photo published December 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
January 4, 2025, 3:00 pm
Report: Syrian leader asked US to press Israel to withdraw its forces from buffer zone
Amid reports of more Islamist slant in Syrian school curricula, Ahmed al-Sharaa hosts German and French foreign ministers, who warn that Europe won’t fund ‘new Islamist structures’
By ToI Staff
Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir (L) meeting with UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher in Damascus, December 17, 2024. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
December 17, 2024, 3:10 pm
Syria’s new rulers step up engagement with world as nations urge humanitarian future
France and Germany send delegations to Damascus, UN humanitarian chief is also in the Syrian capital; EU says it will reopen its embassy
By AFP
File: A member of the Alawite community pasting on a wall in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli pictures of Syrian opposition leader Rifaat Assad (R) and his son Ribal, December 6, 2007. (Ramzi Haidar/AFP)
September 7, 2022, 11:11 pm
French court upholds Assad uncle’s conviction under ‘ill-gotten gains’ law
Rifaat Assad found guilty of conspiracy to launder public money, tax fraud; law may enable return of money to Syrian public
By Anne Lec'hvien
A rescue worker carrying a child following an alleged chemical weapons attack in the rebel-held town of Douma, near Damascus, Syria, on April 8, 2018. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP, File)
December 26, 2021, 11:55 pm
France arrests man suspected of helping Syria produce chemical weapons
Unidentified detainee, who lives abroad, suspected of aiding crimes against humanity committed by Assad regime during civil war
By AFP
Syrians watch the World Cup soccer final match between France and Croatia at their home, that was partially destroyed by the war leaving two of its rooms without a ceiling, in the town of Ain Terma, in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus, Syria, July 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
July 16, 2018, 3:49 am
Guided by geopolitics, Syrian loyalists bemoan French World Cup win
Rooting for Croatia, residents and troops in government controlled areas harbor antipathy toward Paris over colonial history and support for anti-Assad coalition
By Bassam Mroue
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks before the European Parliament on April 17, 2018, in the eastern French city of Strasbourg. (AFP PHOTO / Frederick FLORIN)
April 17, 2018, 4:49 pm
Macron: Syria strikes were ‘for honor of international community’
In address to European Parliament, French leader warns divisions between democracy and authoritarianism in EU are like a ‘civil war’
By Jérôme RIVET, Cedric Simon and Danny Kemp
US Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. speaks during a news briefing at the Pentagon April 14, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. The Pentagon held a briefing on the latest development of the strike in Syria. (Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP)
April 14, 2018, 6:13 pm
Pentagon: US-British-French strikes ‘successfully hit every target’ in Syria
US dismisses Russian, Syrian claims that ‘a significant number’ of missiles were shot down by Syrian air defenses
By Agencies
A British military Typhoon aircraft lands at the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) of Akrotiri, a British overseas territory located ten kilometres west of the southern Cypriot port city of Limassol, following US, British and French strikes on Syria on April 14, 2018. ( AFP PHOTO / Iakovos Hatzistavrou)
April 14, 2018, 10:32 am
With Syria strike, Macron and May order first major military operations
For both the French and the British leaders, last week’s alleged chemical weapons attack by the Syrians crossed a ‘red line’
By Adam PLOWRIGHT
Illustrative - The Damascus sky lights up missile fire, as the US launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the capital, early Saturday, April 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
April 14, 2018, 9:37 am
Syria, Russia say over 100 missiles fired, many intercepted
UK says it targeted a chemical weapons storage facility near Homs, France says it attacked a chemical research center
By Agencies
France's President Emmanuel Macron attends a press conference after his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on January 11, 2018 at the Palazzo Chigi in Rome. (AFP PHOTO / Andreas SOLARO)
April 14, 2018, 5:24 am
Macron says Syria crossed France’s ‘red line’
French leader says strikes target Assad’s ‘clandestine chemical arsenal’
By AP
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