Macron to Host Syria’s Sharaa in Paris on First European Visit Since Assad Ouster

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Updated May 7, 2025, 11:13 AM

French President Emmanuel Macron will host Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Élysée Palace on Wednesday, the presidency said. The trip is Sharaa’s first to Europe since he deposed Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, signalling a potential thaw in Syria’s relations with the European Union.

Sharaa received a temporary travel exemption from the United Nations to make the journey. The Syrian leader, a former member of al-Qaeda and founder of the jihadist Front al-Nusra, is ordinarily subject to international travel restrictions, according to French officials and media reports.

Paris says Macron will use the meeting to reaffirm France’s support for “a free, stable and inclusive Syria” and to demand concrete steps against impunity for crimes committed during the civil war. Syrian and French statements indicate that reconstruction, economic cooperation and broader regional security issues will also be on the agenda.

The invitation has provoked sharp criticism from French opposition politicians, including Marine Le Pen, who condemn the reception of a leader with an extremist background. Government representatives defend the move as necessary engagement to advance Syria’s political transition.

Earlier on Wednesday Macron met Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on the latter’s first foreign trip since taking office. Their talks on European security, defence spending and the Middle East preceded Macron’s meeting with Sharaa, underscoring France’s efforts to reassert its diplomatic influence both within Europe and in the wider region.

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#Emmanuel Macron #Syrian #Élysée Palace #Sharaa #Europe #Syria #European Union #United Nations #French #Paris #Macron #France #Marine Le Pen #Germany #Friedrich Merz #European #Middle East

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Sources

france24.com(10)reuters.com(6)europe1.fr(6)twitter.com(4)

BFMTV

@BFMTV

💬 “We want to respond together to the challenges that Europe is facing” Emmanuel Macron met the new German chancellor Friedrich Merz, in Paris #BFM2 https://t.co/Z8YH3YXb0u

Sud Radio

@SudRadio

Syria: E. Macron will receive the former jihadist and new strongman of Damascus, Ahmed al-Charaa @AdnanAzzam24, Syrian writer: “There are two Joulanis: the one who, on television, says he wants to bring good to Syria, and the one who sends his henchmen to kill Syrians” https://t.co/gq7ccK5hgg