France waiting to intervene militarily in Syria is cowardly, says Harlem Désir of the French PS party

 Harlem Désir, the first secretary of the French Socialist Party, called the decision by France to not launch an assault alone against Syria’s Bashar al-Assad a cowardly one.

Harlem Désir, first secretary of the Socialist Party DR

 “I wouldn’t want to see those who received Bashar al-Assad on the 14th July (France’s Bastille Day), act cowardly now in the face of such atrocities” Désir said this morning when speaking on Radio J. He was alluding to a controversial visit by the Syrian President to France in 2008 when Nicolas Sarkozy was in power.

“Today it is France that must help find a solution in Syria and end this massacre to prevent a new Sarajevo, a new Rwanda”, Désir added.

He also made reference to the president of the right-wing party the UMP, Jean-François Copé, who admitted yesterday that Hollande’s speech on Wednesday about Syria, was satisfactory “both in background and form, but then for tactical reasons all of a sudden ^-[Hollande] decides we should do nothing”.

Following US President Barack Obama's decision to hold-off on a military intervention in Syria, France announced it too would wait. 

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls explained earlier today that France will not launch an assault on Syria alone, and will wait for the US Congress to decide whether or not to punish Bashar al-Assad.

“France cannot go it alone" Valls said when speaking to Europe 1 radio this morning. “We need a coalition” he added.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also spoke up today and said he would meet with the heads of the two houses of parliament and the opposition tomorrow to discuss Syria before a parliamentary debate on Wednesday.