France is ready to help rebuild Syria’s economy and banking sector, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday as he pressed on with a visit to Damascus after two bombs exploded near a hotel where he had been holding meetings.
“We want to continue working on the restructuring of the banking sector,” Macron said at a news conference alongside Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. France was working on helping the Syrian central bank, Macron added.
The explosions struck a busy area of Damascus between the Syrian Tourism Ministry and the national museum across the street from the Four Seasons hotel, where a source in Macron’s delegation and Syrian security sources said he had spent the night and had met civil society groups on Tuesday morning.
In a post on X after the blasts, Macron said his visit continued.
“Nothing can undermine the desire of Syrians to live in a fully sovereign and secure Syria,” he posted. “This morning I met Syria in all its diversity, and I saw dignity, courage and determination.”
Macron accompanied by business leaders
Macron, who led calls for the lifting of Western sanctions on Syria last year, was accompanied by business leaders, including the CEOs of TotalEnergies and shipping group CMA CGM.
The Elysee said CMA CGM signed a partnership deal with Syria, including air cargo freight handling at Damascus airport, and that France and Syria would begin the process of restoring €51 million ($58.3 million) in assets confiscated from the late Rifaat al-Assad, Bashar’s uncle.
