64% of French public reject military strike against Syria

A poll conducted in France has revealed that 64 per cent of respondents reject military intervention in Syria. Despite his vocal support for the US-proposed strike against the Assad regime in Damascus, a majority of the French people do not believe that President Francois Hollande will go ahead with it.

La Parisienne-Aujourd’hui newspaper published the PFA poll in which 58 per cent said that they have doubts about the president’s intention to actually participate in the US strike; 25 per cent fear that such an attack will engulf the whole Middle East in conflict. The poll was conducted following the British parliament’s rejection of government plans for military action against Syria.

Hollande told Le Monde on Friday that the British parliament’s decision will not influence France, which calls for an “appropriate and firm” move against Damascus. The French president added that he does not support an international intervention aimed at “liberating” Syria or overthrowing Assad, “but I think that a regime that commits such unforgivable crimes against its own people should be stopped”.

The United States announced that it was preparing for a limited military attack to punish President Bashar al-Assad in response to the brutal chemical weapons attack against civilians which killed more than 1,400 people in Damascus ten days ago. President Barack Obama has since confirmed that he will seek Congressional support for an attack before proceeding.