French war reporter and global jihadism expert Wassim Nasr was part of the presidential press party during Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to Damascus. He shares his first-hand account not only of what happened between Macron and Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa during the visit, but also what he discovered afterwards, during a trip to Aleppo and to the northern town of Kobane.

Wassim and Thomas discuss:

• What it was like inside Macron’s presidential delegation to Syria
• France–Syria relations after the fall of Bashar al-Assad
• Macron and Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Umayyad Mosque and Mount Qasioun
• Islamic State bombings during Macron’s Damascus visit
• French investment in Syrian reconstruction, energy, ports and transport
• Aleppo’s security, political representation and slow post-war recovery
• Kobani, SDF integration, PKK influence and Arab–Kurdish tensions
• Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Islamist pragmatism and Syria’s dependence on his leadership

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

Produced and edited by Thomas Small.

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