Syria civil war: French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Bashar al-Assad’s fall, pays tribute to Syrians for courage

As Syrian rebels declared they had ousted President Bashar al-Assad after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the fall of Assad government and paid tribute to the Syrian people for their courage and patience.

In a post on social media platform X, President Macron said: “I pay tribute to the Syrian people, to their courage, to their patience. In this moment of uncertainty, I send them my wishes for peace, freedom, and unity.”

“France will remain committed to the security of all in the Middle East,” Macron added.

Earlier, the French foreign affairs ministry said France “welcomes” the fall of Bashar Assad’s government “after more than 13 years of violent repression against its own people.”

In a statement, the ministry said: “The Syrian people have suffered too much. Bashar Assad has bled dry country, emptied of a large part of its people who, if not forced into exile, have been massacred, tortured and bombarded with chemical weapons by the regime and its allies.”

France also called for a peaceful political transition that respects the diversity of the Syrian people and protects civilians and minorities and on its international partners to help the Syrian people move towards “reconciliation and reconstruction.”

France is ready to “play its full part” in the process, the ministry said.

The Syrian rebels entered Damascus with no sign of army deployments. Thousands of people in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in the capital waving and chanting "Freedom" from a half century of Assad family rule.

Prisoners were freed from a large jail on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands.

Leading rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani said there was no room for turning back and the group was determined to continue the path they started in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings.

"The future is ours," he said in a statement read on Syria's state TV after his forces took over Damascus.