I told Sky News Francois Hollande jumped the gun in being too ready to join the US in military action against Syria, leaving him high and dry when Obama decided to consult congress. This left him open to criticism from opponents for leaving such a critical decision as France entering a military conflict, essentially in the hands of the US congress, deemed undue encroachemnt on national sovereignty by members of the UMP. Although the french parliament was not going to vote on the issue of military intervention (the President’s prerogative), UMP insistance on results from the UN report on chemical weapons and on a UN resolution to frame any intervention are likely to slow any readiness to jump on the American bandwagon.
Hollande has also been criticised for lacking a clear political vision for Syria, for seeking to uphold international norms against the use of CW while ignoring international institutions (the UN) and for seeking to sway public opinion using evidence (declassified documents on the MoD website) which whilst deeply disturbing, did not actually add any new information to the public domain concerning their source.
