France's shifting Syria approach

France has been forced to modify its approach to conflict-devastated Syria in the fast-moving diplomatic events since Paris was attacked by jihadists on November 13.

Below are key dates in relations between France and Syria since ties were broken off in 2012:

- 2012 -

- March 2: France closes its embassy in Syria in response to the repression by Bashar al-Assad's regime of the popular uprising born of the Arab Spring, President Nicolas Sarkozy announces.

- May 29: Newly elected President Francois Hollande, following in the footsteps of other Western leaders, announces he is expelling Syria's ambassador in France, Lamia Shakkour, in response to a massacre several days earlier in the central province of Homs, in which at least 108 were killed.

However, Shakkour remains on French soil as her country's representative at the UN's cultural organisation UNESCO.

- November 13: Hollande says France recognises the new opposition coalition as the "sole representative of the Syrian people".

- 2013 -

- August-September: After a chemical weapons attack in August blamed on Syrian forces, Hollande holds back on plans to mount attacks, alongside the US, on Syrian military installations.

US President Barack Obama steps back from an attack following an agreement with Moscow in September on the dismantlement of Syria's chemical arsenal.

- 2014 -
- August 28: Hollande says Assad "cannot be a partner in the fight against terrorism" in Syria and Iraq, where jihadists from the Islamic State have seized control of several regions.

- September: Faced with rapid breakthroughs by the IS, an international coalition led by the United States is put in place. France takes part in strikes on Iraq, but not in Syria.

- 2015 -

- February 26: Hollande condemns the visit to Syria by four French lawmakers, of whom three hold talks with Assad. He denounces their meeting with a "dictator".

- April 20: Assad claims that contacts between French and Syrian intelligence services exist, despite the break-off in relations.

- September 27: France carries out its first air strikes against IS in Syria.

- September 28: Hollande says Assad cannot be part of a solution to the Syrian conflict, saying it is impossible to make "the victims and the executioner" work together.

- November 14: Assad digresses from the global outpouring of solidarity with France after it is hit by IS attacks, in which at least 130 are killed, saying France's "mistaken policies... have contributed to the spread of terrorism".

- November 16: Hollande says France will "intensify its operations in Syria", pointing to the need to destroy the IS.

- November 23: France steps up its action in Syria, bombarding IS targets from jets flying from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean.

Hollande begins an intense week of diplomacy, aimed at building a united anti-jihadist front from Washington to Moscow.
Source: AFP