Syria

French presence

Since 5 May, France has had a chargé d’affaires at the French Embassy to Syria located in Beirut, who travels regularly to Syria and is assisted by a political chancery. 

France ceased official contact with the Bashar al-Assad regime in 2012. The French Embassy in Damascus, as well as the French consulates in Damascus and Aleppo, have been closed since 2 March 2012. 

Visits

Multilateral events

• 12 May 2026: The EU’s Syria Partnership Coordination Forum, Brussels
• 11 May 2026: First EU-Syria High-level Political Dialogue, Brussels
• 17 March 2025: EU “Standing with Syria” Conference, Brussels
• 13 February 2025: International Paris Conference for Syria
• Riyadh summit on post-Assad Syria on 12 January 2025.
• Meeting of the Arab Ministerial Contact Committee on Syria in Aqaba (Jordan) on 14 December 2024. The Syrian transitional authorities were present, as was France, represented by Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

Bilateral meetings

• 6-7 July 2026: State visit to Damascus by Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic
• 5 February 2026: Visit to Damascus by Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, to meet his counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani
• 6 January 2026: Visit to Paris by Asaad al-Shaibani, Syrian Foreign Minister, meeting with his counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot
• Visit to Paris by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani on 25 July 2025 
• Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's transitional president, received at the Élysée Palace on 7 May 2025.
• Visit to Damascus by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on 3 January 2025.