France to convene Syria meeting after Assad, allies launch ''total war''

"France is taking an initiative to confront the strategy of total war by the regime and its allies, who are taking advantage of the uncertainty in the United States," Ayrault said.

PARIS: France accused Syria and its allies of using the political uncertainty in the United States to launch "total war" against rebel-held areas in the country and said,  states opposed to President Bashar al-Assad would meet in Paris soon.

"France is taking an initiative to confront the strategy of total war by the regime and its allies, who are taking advantage of the uncertainty in the United States," Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.

He said, a meeting of countries opposed to Assad would take place in the coming days in Paris and that France would also now actively push for a U.N. Security Council resolution to sanction the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons.