France has said that the international community would need to respond forcefully 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 told French television network BFM on Thursday.
If the UN Security Council could not make a decision, one would have to be taken "in other ways", he said, without elaborating.
Al Jazeera has sought comment from the French foreign ministry on what exactly Fabius meant by a "forceful reaction".
"As we saw during international intervention in Libya [the military option] would not rule out other possible courses of action, for example no-fly zones or air strikes," Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland in Paris reported.
Opposition activists accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces of gassing hundreds of people, including women and children, in Wednesday's attack near Damascus.
The Syrian National Coalition said more than 1,300 people had died, while videos and photographs showed scenes of dozens of people foaming at the mouth and of bodies stacked up in morgues.
Read more: France warns Syria of forceful response - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
"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 told French television network BFM on Thursday.
If the UN Security Council could not make a decision, one would have to be taken "in other ways", he said, without elaborating.
Al Jazeera has sought comment from the French foreign ministry on what exactly Fabius meant by a "forceful reaction".
"As we saw during international intervention in Libya [the military option] would not rule out other possible courses of action, for example no-fly zones or air strikes," Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland in Paris reported.
Opposition activists accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces of gassing hundreds of people, including women and children, in Wednesday's attack near Damascus.
The Syrian National Coalition said more than 1,300 people had died, while videos and photographs showed scenes of dozens of people foaming at the mouth and of bodies stacked up in morgues.
Read more: France warns Syria of forceful response - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
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