France will on Tuesday begin reconnaissance flights over territory held by Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria, with a view to subsequent bombing raids, President François Hollande announced at a press conference on Monday.
Over the past year, France has carried out 217 bombing raids against IS in northern Iraq. Over the same period, the US targeted IS 2,876 times in Iraq and 6,500 times in Syria.
France, like Britain, until now refused to attack IS in Syria, for fear of strengthening the Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad.
Mr Hollande linked the fight against IS to the migration crisis. He announced that France will accept 24,000 asylum seekers, out of the 120,000 which the EU wants to distribute across member states. Terrorism and war were the root causes of their exodus, he noted.
IS has organised attacks against France and other countries from its stronghold in Syria, Mr Hollande continued. “My responsibility is to make sure that we are as well informed as possible of the threats against our country. That is why I asked the minister of defence to begin reconnaissance flights over Syria. These flights will make it possible to envisage airstrikes against IS, while preserving our autonomy of decision and action.”
French officers had complained that by limiting operations to Iraqi airspace, France deprived itself of intelligence in the fight against IS.
Most experts believe a ground offensive would be the only way to dislodge IS. Asked whether France was prepared to consider sending ground troops, Mr Hollande said that Paris has never shirked its responsibility to fight terrorism. Yet again, he reminded his audience that he was ready to bomb Mr Assad's regime in the summer of 2013, when Syria used chemical weapons. US president Barack Obama reversed his decision to strike Syria, forcing Paris to follow suit.
Mr Hollande said it would be “irresponsible and and unrealistic” for France to send ground troops against IS.
“Unrealistic because we would be the only ones. Irresponsible because it would transform an operation into occupation forces. So we won’t intervene on the ground in Syria, any more than we have in Iraq. Because it’s up to Iraqis in Iraq and the Syrian rebels in Syria. It’s up to the neighbouring countries, to regional forces, to assume their responsibilities.”
Arms contracts
Growing Russian involvement in the Syrian war is also believed to have motivated the shift in French strategy. The Russian president,
Vladimir Putin
, continues to support
Mr Assad
, while Mr Hollande insists that “in the long run [Assad] must leave” if there is to be a settlement in Syria.
“We are giving strong, serious support to Syria in terms of military equipment, training and weapons,” Mr Putin said on September 4th. “We have already signed important [ARMS)]contracts with Syria, and they will be fulfilled completely.”
Mr Hollande suggested Paris could host an international conference on refugees in November. He said the right of asylum was “part of the history and soul” of France.
The French government avoids using the word “quota”, but Mr Hollande called for “a mandatory, permanent mechanism” for distributing asylum seekers across Europe.
An opinion poll last weekend showed that 55 per cent of French people oppose taking in more asylum seekers. Mr Hollande said it was a question of “honour in the face of horror” for France to receive “those who are tormented, banned and displaced”.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the extreme right-wing National Front, said on Sunday that "immigration is not an opportunity; it's a burden". Ms Le Pen accused Germany of seeking to compensate for "flagging demography" and "recruiting slaves through mass immigration".
