French Lawmakers Debate Intervention in Syria

Hollande has ruled out a unilateral intervention

The French parliament will hold an emergency debate on Wednesday over whether or not the country should take military action against Syria.

Arguments are likely to centre around the moral and legal grounds for military strikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been accused of using chemical weapons to massacre thousands of Syrian civilians.

French President François Hollande has been one of the principal Western backers of an armed intervention in Syria.

However, the surprise decision by Barack Obama to seek approval from Congress before authorising military strikes against Assad has cast doubt on France's own course of action.