French PM: Assad could strike again if no one acts

France’s prime minister made a passionate appeal on Wednesday for intervention in Syria, placing the blame for a chemical attack on Syrian President Bashar Assad and warning that inaction could let him carry out more atrocities.

France’s prime minister made a passionate appeal on Wednesday for intervention in Syria, placing the blame for a chemical attack on Syrian President Bashar Assad and warning that inaction could let him carry out more atrocities.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault addressed the French National Assembly at the beginning of a debate on the wisdom of a French military response. Wednesday’s debate will end without a vote - since President Francois Hollande can order a military operation without one - but it was part of his government’s delicate dance to rev up support at home for an unpopular intervention.