President Emmanuel Macron has announced that French-speaking Christian schools in Syria which had been closed by the previous regime will reopen with funding from the French State.

He made the remarks during a joint press conference in Damascus with the new Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

This came at the end of a landmark visit, the first by a Western leader, since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

While underlining a renewal of economic, cultural and educational cooperation, Macron said the two leaders spoke about “how important it is to have French-speaking Christian schools which under the former regime had to close their doors”.

“And we are willing to work with L’Oeuvre d’Orient [A Catholic charity under the patronage of the Archbishop of Paris] to make sure that they will be able to open their doors once again. And we are willing to ensure that these schools will be able to teach and educate young girls and boys throughout the country”, he said.

France has long had close connections with the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon, Syria and Armenia.

In 2022, President Macron announced a doubling of funding from €2 million to €4 million for Christian schools in the region.