Hollande faces calls for parliament vote on Syria

September 01, 2013 05:19 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 09:19 pm IST - PARIS

President Barack Obama’s decision to seek congressional authorization for a military strike on Syria has sparked calls for the French parliament to get the same privilege.

The French constitution doesn’t require such a vote unless and until a French military intervention lasts longer than four months, as recently happened in Mali.

President Francois Hollande has backed Mr. Obama’s call to punish Syria’s government for a deadly chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21.

Francois Fillon, France’s ex—prime minister and leading figure in the opposition UMP party, said Sunday that parliament should vote on the issue, telling the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, “In the current circumstances, France cannot go to war without the clear support of parliament.”

France’s parliament is scheduled to debate the issue Wednesday, but no vote is scheduled.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.