French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephone call on 26 July with Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Chareh, warning that a repeat of the deadly inter-communal clashes that ravaged southern Syria earlier this month must be averted. Macron said those responsible for the violence— which left more than 1,300 people dead, most of them Druze, between 13 and 20 July—must be held accountable and civilians protected. Macron also urged that negotiations between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus advance in good faith within a framework of national governance and security. He framed the dialogue as essential to unifying the country and stabilising a fragile transition. The call underscores Paris’s bid to keep pressure on Syrian authorities amid renewed concern over human-rights violations and regional spill-overs.