France urged Israel to hit Syria 
March 19, 2007
French President Jacques Chirac told Israel at the start of the war in Lebanon that France would support an Israeli assault on Syria, it was reported on Sunday.
Army Radio reported that in the message, which was delivered by Chirac to Israel via a secret channel, the French president suggested that Israel invade Damascus and topple the regime of Bashar Assad. In exchange, Chirac assured Israel of full French support for the war.
According to the message delivered form Paris, Syria was responsible for the flare up in the North and encouraged Hizbullah to attack.
During the war last summer, France consistently called on Israel to exercise restraint in its attacks on Lebanon and was one of the foremost proponents of sending a UN multinational force to police the border between the two countries.
In March of last year, some four months before the war began, Chirac warned Syria that the international community would respond harshly to any attempt to destabilize Lebanon.
"Syria must understand that any act that encroaches upon the stability of Lebanon, be it through the shipment of weapons or assassinations, is an act that contradicts with its standing in the international community and will trigger a response from the international community," Chirac said at the time.
France has also backed an international tribunal into the assassination of former Lebanses prime minister Rafik Hariri.