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Emmanuel Macron’s reception of the new Syrian president in Paris has sparked a wave of outrage across the country. The French president hopes that the relationship thus established will provide guarantees for Syria’s future—a questionable strategy that has never proven successful in the past.

This was the first visit to the West by interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa since his supporters came to power, leading to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. After shaking hands, Macron and al-Sharaa gave a joint press conference.

The handshake between the two men on the steps of the Elysée Palace was met with fierce criticism from the right. “Stupor and dismay,” was Marine Le Pen’s reaction. “We do not receive leaders who are former terrorists and members of organisations that want to attack France,” added Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the Les Républicains MPs.

The diplomatic rapprochement with al-Sharaa is not going down well in the country of the Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan attacks. One of the founders of the al-Nusra Front, he welcomed the massacres in the French capital in November 2015. “We are pleased to see that a deviant sect has been able to carry out a successful operation against the kufars (infidels),” he said after the attacks that killed 130 people. The Times of Israel reveals that, given al-Sharaa’s background, France had to negotiate an exemption with the UN, as the new Syrian leader is on a list of individuals considered terrorists, which should prevent him from travelling abroad.

For the sovereigntist Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, Macron deserves to be removed from office for such a gesture.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, président de Debout la France, s’indigne sur la polémique autour d’Emmanuel Macron qui reçoit le président syrien : «Emmanuel Macron mérite la destitution», dans la #GrandeInterview pic.twitter.com/9N553Ef3a2

— CNEWS (@CNEWS) May 8, 2025

Macron justified his meeting with the terrorist by saying he wanted to talk: he said he planned to ask the Syrian president to punish those responsible for the violence that happened when the regime changed in Damascus, which killed 1,700 people, including Christians and Alawites, members of the Muslim sect that Bashar al-Assad belongs to.

Faced with intense criticism, Macron sought to defend himself by arguing that these were “political posturing” intended to “appeal to the electorate.” He emphasised that al-Sharaa’s rise to power had been accompanied by “positive” gestures and rejected any suggestion of “naivety” on his part. During the press conference, he assured that he was aware of the “past” of certain Syrian leaders. The head of state must ask his host “to ensure that the fight against impunity becomes a reality” and that “those responsible for abuses against civilians” are “brought to justice,” the president’s entourage told the press. “Our demand is for the protection of all civilians, regardless of their origin or religion.”

Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot justified the president’s choice by saying that France did not want to leave the field open to Daesh. “The fight against terrorism, the control of migration flows, the control of drug trafficking,” as well as the future of neighbouring Lebanon, “all of this is being played out in Syria,” he explained.

The possibility of such a move yielding concrete results is slim, given that France, under President Macron, has virtually no international credibility and no means of exerting pressure.

Several dozen members of Syrian religious minorities persecuted since the fall of Assad—Alawites, Druze, Christians, but also Sunnis—demonstrated in Paris on Wednesday, May 7th, shouting “Jolani get out! Get out of France, get out of Syria!,” using the former nom de guerre of Ahmad al-Sharaa.

France is campaigning for the lifting of certain European sanctions that have been in place against Syria since Assad and criticises the restrictions imposed by the United States, which it says are preventing reconstruction and investment in Syria.

Original article: The European Conservative