Macron visits Damascus' Umayyad Mosque with Syrian officials

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Damascus on Thursday and, accompanied by Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed al‑Sharaa, entered the historic Umayyad Mosque, where he signed the guestbook in a gesture marking the first visit by a French head of state to the site in decades. The brief stop was part of a two‑day itinerary that also included meetings with Syrian officials and a visit to a reconstruction project in the capital’s outskirts.

The Damascus visit underscores France’s renewed diplomatic outreach to Syria, a country whose civil war and subsequent sanctions have limited high‑level contacts with Western governments. By meeting al‑Sharaa and touring reconstruction efforts, Macron signaled an interest in assessing humanitarian needs and exploring avenues for future cooperation, while the Umayyad Mosque stop highlighted cultural and religious outreach as a component of the broader engagement strategy.