‘Don’t rebuild Syria’: Message behind Damascus blasts near Macron’s hotel

The twin blasts in Damascus near the hotel in which French President Emmanuel Macron was staying were aimed at derailing efforts to accelerate Syria’s reconstruction integration into the international community, according to an intelligence assessment.

CNN-News 18 reported that top intelligence sources have assessed that these blasts were not isolated incidents but part of a broader and emerging campaign to undermine Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to end the country’s isolation in the world.

Two bombs exploded on Tuesday near Macron’s hotel in Damascus, wounding 18 people and threatening to overshadow the visit — the first by a major Western power’s head of state since the fall of the Assad dynasty.

Macron had left in his motorcade shortly before the blasts and continued the visit, meeting al-Sharaa at the presidential palace.

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“Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria. This morning I met Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage, and determination. My visit continues,” Macron said in a post on X.

It is exactly this spirit that the bombs sought to shatter, according to the intelligence assessment.

Blasts sought to humiliate the Syrian regime: Intelligence assessment

The intelligence assessment said that the twin blasts sought to humiliate the new Syrian regime and sabotage a historic diplomatic outreach, according to CNN-News 18.

The location of the blast was also incidental as it was near the hotel Macron was staying in.

Macron has led calls in the West to lift sanctions on Syria since the fall of the Assad dynasty and integrate the country into the global mainstream. With the blast, forces opposed to Syria’s reintegration sent out a message to Macron as well. But he continued the visit.

The European Union (EU) has approved a €675 million, three-year package to support Syria’s recovery and reintegration. Macron has championed the package.

Macron was accompanied on the visit by business leaders, including the CEOs of TotalEnergies and shipping group CMA CGM, according to Reuters.

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 start a process to restore €51 million of assets to Syria that were confiscated from the late Rifaat al-Assad, Bashar's uncle, during the dynasty’s decadeslong rule over the country.