France to take in 24,000 refugees, fly over Syria

By Pierre Briancon

Hollande calls for ‘European and global’ response to the migration crisis.

PARIS — Citing the need to act “without calculation or delay,” French President François Hollande said Monday that Paris would accept the 24,000 refugees it could be assigned under a new European Union plan, and insisted that any solution to the refugee crisis should be made “permanent and compulsory” for member states.

In a press conference devoted mostly to foreign policy issues and clearly designed to help him shed the image of indecisiveness that has plagued the first two-thirds of his presidential term, Hollande also said that French planes would be sent on reconnaissance flights over Syria as soon as Tuesday, as a preparation for strikes against ISIS.

The newspaper Le Monde reported earlier Monday that the European Commission was about to propose that Germany take some 31,000 asylum-seekers and France 24,000, as part of a new plan to be unveiled this week for the relocation of some 120,000 refugees in Europe.

The right of asylum “is an integral part of France’s soul and a fundamental principle enshrined in its constitution,” Hollande said.

Calling for a “European and global” response to the problem, he added that he would submit a plan for an international refugee conference to EU interior ministers at a special migration meeting on Sept. 14. If the ministers can’t agree, Hollande said he would take the matter up to the European Council — the gathering of EU leaders.