Damascus, July 6 (SANA) Relations between Syria and France have undergone a dramatic transformation over the past quarter century, shifting from diplomatic engagement to years of political and legal confrontation following crimes committed by the deposed regime.
With the fall of the deposed regime and the beginning of a new era in Damascus, bilateral relations have gained fresh momentum, culminating in the announcement of French President Emmanuel Macron‘s upcoming visit to Syria. Described by some French media outlets as “historic,” the visit could mark the beginning of a new strategic partnership after years of diplomatic isolation and estrangement.
The evolution of Syrian-French relations can be traced through five key milestones that reshaped ties between the two countries.
2005: Hariri assassination marks a turning point
France, under then-President Jacques Chirac, sought to establish political channels with the deposed Assad regime during the late 1990s. Those efforts unraveled following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, a crime in which the deposed Assad regime was implicated, prompting Chirac to suspend high-level contacts with Damascus.
When Nicolas Sarkozy took office, France attempted to restore the deposed Assad regime’s international standing after years of isolation. Those efforts ended with the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, when the deposed regime responded to demonstrators with violence, arrests and repression.
2011: France calls for Bashar al-Assad to step down
As Bashar al-Assad’s regime intensified its crackdown on demonstrators demanding freedom, political reform and an end to corruption, France halted progress in relations with Damascus and joined Britain, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, in seeking a resolution condemning the violations.
Relations deteriorated further on July 11, 2011, after groups loyal to the deposed regime attacked the French Embassy in Damascus.
The following year, Paris severed diplomatic relations with the deposed regime, closed its embassy in Damascus and backed tougher European Union sanctions while supporting the Syrian revolution and calling for the regime leader to step down.
Legal accountability and chemical weapons investigations
As legal cases against officials of the deposed regime gathered momentum, Syrian expatriates and Franco-Syrian human rights organizations intensified efforts to pursue accountability and justice. France suspended economic and cultural exchanges, and French institutions ceased operating in Syria.
Paris also supported international efforts to hold those responsible for crimes committed by the deposed regime accountable, particularly over the use of chemical weapons.
In 2018, following the chemical weapons attack on Douma and the displacement of residents from Eastern Ghouta, France launched the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, bringing together about 40 countries.
The Dabbagh case
The case of French-Syrian businessman Mazen Dabbagh and his son Patrick became one of the most significant legal cases against the deposed regime in France.
The two were arrested in 2013 by the deposed regime’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate and forcibly disappeared before authorities later confirmed they had died under torture.
French prosecutors opened an investigation in 2015 based on their French citizenship. In May 2024, a French court sentenced three senior deposed regime officials—Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan and Abdul Salam Mahmoud—to life imprisonment in absentia, while international arrest warrants against them remain in force.
The Dabbagh case, alongside other investigations, paved the way for broader legal proceedings against senior officials of the deposed regime on charges including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Three arrest warrants issued for Bashar al-Assad
In November 2023, French judicial authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity over chemical weapons attacks against civilians near Damascus in 2013.
France also launched investigations into the killing and attempted killing of French nationals in March 2012. In December 2024, prosecutors expanded those investigations to include war crimes and crimes against humanity.
French courts later issued two additional arrest warrants against Assad. The first, issued on Jan. 20, 2025, related to complicity in war crimes linked to shelling a residential area in Daraa in 2017. The second, issued in September 2025, concerned the killing of journalists, including foreign reporters, in Homs in 2012.
Assad’s escape opens a new chapter
Following the fall of the deposed regime and Bashar al-Assad’s escape to Russia on Dec. 8, 2024, Syria and France entered a new phase in their relationship. After more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, both countries found a historic opportunity to redefine bilateral ties, particularly as the new Syria adopted a policy of openness and sought to restore the country’s regional and international role.
One of the earliest signs of renewed engagement came on Dec. 17, 2024, when a French diplomatic delegation visited Damascus in the first official visit to the French Embassy compound since its closure more than a decade earlier.
Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani later headed Syria’s delegation to an international conference in Paris on Feb. 13, 2025, where he met French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. His participation was widely seen as a sign of Syria’s renewed diplomatic engagement with France.
Direct presidential engagement
Relations advanced further on May 7, 2025, when President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited Paris at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron.
During the visit, Macron reaffirmed France’s support for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and expressed his intention to work toward lifting all European sanctions. President al-Sharaa stressed Syria’s commitment to strengthening ties of friendship in a way that serves the shared interests of both peoples.
As political consultations continued, the Syrian Presidency’s Media Directorate announced on Sunday that Macron will visit Syria to discuss bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.
The Presidency said Macron’s delegation will include investors and representatives of French companies, signaling plans to expand economic cooperation alongside political engagement.
A turning point in bilateral relations
According to officials in both countries, Macron’s planned visit to Damascus marks the end of a prolonged period of diplomatic estrangement caused by crimes committed by the deposed regime against Syrians and French nationals alike, opening a new chapter in relations based on shared interests.
Several French media outlets have underscored the significance of the visit. La Tribune described it as “historic,” noting that Macron would become the first Western leader to visit Syria since the fall of the deposed regime, highlighting the scale of the transformation in relations between Damascus and Paris.
N.J/ABD
