President Hollande
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President Hollande struggled to maintain French resolve for a strike against Syria last night after Washington's retreat prompted dismay in his administration and stirred opposition demands for a parliamentary vote.

Manuel Valls, the French Interior Minister, said that President Obama's shift had "created a new situation". He added: "France cannot go it alone. We need a coalition."

By backtracking on his agreement with Paris on an immediate offensive, Mr Obama has severely embarrassed the Socialist President. Already weakened by the defection of Britain, France now finds itself as the lone important ally and hostage to the US political tide. Some of the Hollande team voiced frustration over what they said was a letdown by Mr Obama which played into the hands of critics who accuse the French President of becoming a "poodle" to the United States.

Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Prime Minister, invited parliamentary leaders to a briefing on the state of Syria's chemical arsenal today before a scheduled parliamentary debate on Wednesday which is to end with no vote. The civilian and military intelligence services have produced an exhaustive report on President Assad's accumulation of more than 1,000 tonnes of sarin and other gases and his repeated use of chemical weapons. The report is to be declassified this week.

The President has no constitutional duty to seek parliamentary approval for any foreign military venture that lasts less than four months but the precedents of Britain and the US over Syria make it hard for him to refuse. On the defensive, Mr Valls, said: "We do not change the constitution based on someone's mood or on what's happening in the world."

François Fillon, who was Prime Minister under President Sarkozy and is now a powerful figure in his conservative Union for a Popular Movement, called for a parliamentary vote.

François Bayrou, leader of the centrist MoDem party, said that it would be "unthinkable" for Mr Hollande to act without consulting Parliament.

Mr Hollande may decide to seek a binding vote in the form of a confidence motion in the Government, a tactic that the late President Mitterrand used in 1991 to win support for French involvement in the first Gulf war. The Socialist parliamentary majority would be unlikely to defect, given that a "no" would bring down the Government.

Mr Hollande is acutely aware that he has not yet carried public opinion in his drive to "punish" Syria without a mandate from the UN Security Council. The latest poll on Friday showed that 64 per cent were opposed to involvement in a military operation.

Many figures in Mr Hollande's own party are uneasy over his eagerness to act without a UN mandate. The approach breaches the doctrine espoused by President Chirac for opposing the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Christian Jacob, parliamentary leader of the UMP, said: "François Hollande would be taking on a heavy responsibility if he engages France in the Syrian conflict outside the framework of the UN."

A military official said: "The more the disciplinary action is delayed after August 21, the more it risks being less effective on a political and military level."

Faisal Muqdad, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister, called the French Government "irresponsible" and accused Mr Hollande of duping "the French people to justify the failed policies against Syria".