Hundreds of members of the Syrian community in France gathered in Paris on Wednesday, May 06, in demonstrations opposing and supporting Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to France as head of Syria’s transitional government.
Protesters opposing the visit chanted slogans condemning the policies of the transitional government, particularly those affecting the Syrian coast. They also highlighted recent incidents in Jaramana and Ashrafieh Sahnaya, areas in the Damascus countryside, with a majority of Druze inhabitants . Human rights activists affiliated with the protest movement have accused forces aligned with the new government of involvement in killings and the displacement of members of the Druze community.
In con, pro-government demonstrators also took to the streets in the French capital. Dozens of Syrians expressed support for Al-Sharaa and his leadership of the transitional period.
These protests come at a politically sensitive moment, coinciding with al-Sharaa’s official visit to Paris. He arrived Wednesday morning at the head of a government delegation, responding to an invitation from the French government. According to the official Syrian News Agency (SANA), al-Sharaa met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss bilateral and regional issues, in a meeting framed as a continuation of the Paris International Conference on Syria.
In his first official statement regarding the visit, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot voiced France’s cautious stance on the transitional government. “France will not give Syria a blank check,” he said, emphasising that Paris’s position would depend on the transitional government’s actions, not its rhetoric.
In an interview with the French channel TF1, Barrot noted that “the violations which have led to the deaths of nearly 1,700 people on the Syrian coast, most of them Alawites, and the recent clashes in the south involving the Druze community, raise serious questions about the Syrian authorities’ control over affiliated extremist groups.” He added that France was closely monitoring the rise in sectarian violence and called on the transitional administration to focus on three critical areas: ending impunity, halting sectarian violence, and confronting ISIS.
“The collapse of the situation in Syria today would be like rolling out the red carpet for ISIS,” Barrot warned. “Any failure to manage the transitional phase risks undermining regional stability and threatening European security.”
Meanwhile, the French presidency issued a statement confirming that President Macron, during his meeting with al-Sharaa, reiterated France’s support for a “free, stable, and sovereign Syria that respects all components of Syrian society.” The statement also noted that Paris stressed the importance of an inclusive transitional process, respect for Lebanese sovereignty, and a continued fight against terrorism.
French political analysts described the anticipated meeting between Macron and al-Sharaa as “more of a political interrogation than a routine diplomatic encounter,” given the increasing international pressure to hold violators of human rights in Syria, potentially including members of the transitional administration, accountable.
