Explosions in Damascus coincide with Macron's visit

SadaNews: Two explosions occurred in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday, coinciding with the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron.

It was found that the explosion took place near the Victoria Bridge due to a series of explosive devices in close proximity to the hotel where Macron is staying in Damascus.

This incident coincides with the arrival of President Emmanuel Macron on Monday in an unprecedented visit, marking the first by a leader of a major Western nation to Syria since President Ahmad al-Sharai took power in late 2024 after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

This is the first visit by a French president to Syria since former President Nicolas Sarkozy's second visit in 2009, before a rupture between the two countries that followed the previous regime's bloody crackdown on protests that erupted in 2011, which quickly turned into a devastating conflict resulting in the deaths of more than half a million people.

Macron is the first head of a state member of the European Union to travel to Damascus since the ousting of Assad.

The official Syrian news agency (SANA) described the visit as "historic," considering it a "turning point in the course of Syria's restoration of its international presence, embodying the transition of Syrian-French relations into a new phase based on mutual respect and equal partnership."