Blasts near Damascus hotel housing Macron during historic Syria visit wounds 18 Two bombs exploded near a hotel in Damascus where French President Emmanuel Macron spent the night, wounding 18 people and overshadowing the first visit to Syria by an EU head of state since Bashar al-Assad was toppled. Macron's motorcade left the hotel shortly before the blasts. The French president pressed ahead with his visit, meeting Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the presidential palace.