France calls for respond with force if chemical arms confirmed in Syria

France said on Thursday that the international community would need to respond with force if allegations that the Syrian government was responsible for a chemical attack on civilians proved true.

“There would have to be reaction with force in Syria from the international community, but there is no question of sending troops on the ground,” Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

If the U.N. Security Council could not make a decision, one would have to be taken “in other ways,” he said, without elaborating.

Opposition activists accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of gassing hundreds, including women and children, in Wednesday’s attack.

What would be the world’s most lethal chemical weapons attack since the 1980s led to an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York.