President Emmanuel Macron of France visited Damascus on Tuesday, the first such trip by a Western leader since the overthrow of the Assad regime 18 months ago, and offered his country’s support to help war-ravaged Syria repair its economy.

Mr. Macron signaled his confidence in Syria and its new leadership by staying overnight in a hotel in Damascus, the capital, touring the Old City and carrying on with his scheduled meetings even after explosives went off near his hotel on Tuesday morning. He said France had agreed to return more than $50 million in assets that were confiscated from the family of the deposed dictator, Bashar al-Assad.

“France is ready to be a partner,” Mr. Macron said during one of the meetings, adding that his country wanted to help Syria rehabilitate its banking sector.

Syria has been reintegrating into the international community after years as a pariah state under Mr. al-Assad. The Assad regime killed tens of thousands of its own citizens during a nearly 14-year civil war; disappeared many more into prisons, where they were tortured or executed; and used chemical weapons against Syrian civilians.

The explosions on Tuesday morning, however, highlighted some of the many difficulties Syria faces as it rebuilds. Even after the ouster of the Assad dictatorship in late 2024 and the end of the civil war, the country is facing serious security challenges, including multiple attacks targeting the government and the military.

The last time a French leader visited Syria was in 2009. Ahmed al-Sharaa, who became Syria’s president after leading the rebel coalition that defeated the Assad regime, visited France last year.

Mr. Macron and Mr. al-Sharaa toured the Old City on Monday night and met again on Tuesday.

The French delegation included investors and representatives of French companies, according to Syrian state media. On Tuesday, the two countries signed a series of cooperation agreements related to investment, banking, infrastructure, transport and health care. They also agreed on partnerships in maritime and air transport, critical to Syria’s plans to become an integral part of regional trade.

Both countries also said they would appoint ambassadors.

The assets that France will return to Syria were seized from Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of Bashar al-Assad. Rifaat al-Assad, who died this year, had lived in exile in France for some time.

Mr. al-Sharaa has been trying to rebuild Syria’s foreign relations. The country needs billions of dollars for reconstruction and is seeking investment to rebuild a battered economy.

Syria has sought to highlight its strategic importance during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, when the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments, was blocked. It has tried to position itself as an alternative route, with Iraq and some Persian Gulf states sending oil and other goods for export from Syrian ports on the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr. al-Sharaa characterized Mr. Macron’s visit as a milestone in bilateral relations between their two countries.

“Syria, which shaped its recovery and reconstruction priorities by the hands of its own people, opens its doors today to an equal partnership,” Mr. al-Sharaa said at a joint news conference. “A partnership that repositions Syria as a secure and vital connecting node and an indispensable civilizational and economic bridge between East and West.”

The blasts on Tuesday came just days after a bomb exploded in a crowded cafe in Damascus, Syria’s capital, killing at least six people and wounding about two dozen others.

It was not clear who was behind either of the attacks and no one has claimed responsibility. But the terrorist group Islamic State, which once controlled a large swath of Syrian territory, maintains sleeper cells in the country and has continued to carry out attacks.

Mr. Macron was not at the hotel, the Four Seasons, at the time of the explosions, one official said, and state media in Syria published photographs of Mr. al-Sharaa welcoming Mr. Macron to his official residence in Damascus soon after the blast. Mr. Macron’s office confirmed afterward that the French president was safe and would go on with his daily schedule as planned.

Syria’s deputy tourism minister, Faraj al-Qashqoush, was lightly injured in the explosions, according to a Syrian official. At least 18 other people were also injured, including four police officers, according to the Syrian Interior Ministry.

Security forces detected the explosive devices as they swept the area and were preparing to defuse them when they detonated, according to the Interior Ministry.

One of the blasts was caused by an explosive device planted in a trash can opposite the hotel, and the other was placed in a parked car nearby, one of the Syrian officials said, adding that several other suspicious objects had been identified. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment to the news media.

Both explosives were outside the designated security perimeter for Mr. Macron’s visit and posed no direct threat, the Interior Ministry said. A large search operation was underway to identify those responsible, the ministry added.

Catherine Porter contributed reporting from Paris.

Raja Abdulrahim reports on the Middle East and is based in Jerusalem.