After the Syrian uprising took shape during 2011, there was much confusion in Europe about how to react. Eventually, in the wake of François Hollande's election to the presidence in May 2012, France became the first western country to recognise the Syrian National Coalition as the “unique representative” of the Syrian people, and thus to break decisively with Bashar al-Assad’s government. This was very much Hollande’s own decision in tandem with his foreign minister Laurent Fabius (whose other twin hatreds are Russia and Iran).
In the event this “moderate” opposition failed to deliver and ended ever more marginalised by the growing strength of jihadi groups, including the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). The latter claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks of 13 November, whose death toll of 130 far exceeded the Charlie Hebdo and supermarket murders in January, as well as the assaults on the French capital's transport network by Algerian jihadis in 1995.
The French president has repeatedly called for al-Assad’s removal, while Fabius went so far as to speak of eliminating the Syrian leader. Hollande's hard line, which was followed by his peers in London and Washington, has slowly come unstuck - the turning-point being August 2013, when Syrian government forces crossed the “red lines” established by Barack Obama and used chemical weapons to attack citizens. French planes were ready for take-off on a punitive expedition when first, the House of Commons in London voted down prime minister David Cameron's motion to take military action and second, Obama’s decision to consult Congress killed any chance of a quick response. Hollande felt betrayed, if not ridiculed. The Syrian president was freed to pursue his murderous assaults on his people, pushing millions of them to take refuge in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
