French President Francois Hollande addressed both houses of the French parliament in Versailles on Monday, saying that he is to meet U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days to "join our forces" against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Syria.
Hollande said that he would travel to Washington to meet his American counterpart and Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart to strengthen the fight against ISIS. He also pledged to "intensify" France's fight against ISIS in Syria.
"We will continue the strikes in the weeks to come," Hollande said.
Hollande has requested that the U.N. Security Council convene to adopt a resolution on the common goal of fighting what he called "terrorism." The French leader said that the coordinated attacks on the French capital were "decided and planned" in Syria and "prepared and organised" in Belgium with help within France.
Hollande announced that he will seek to amend the country's constitution and allow authorities to strip dual citizens of their French citizenship if they are deemed a risk to national security. He will table a bill to extend the state of emergency in France by three months.
He said that France must "go on living" and show "perseverance" and "unity" in the aftermath of the worst attack on European soil since the 2004 Madrid bombings.
"France is not engaged in a war of civilizations because those murderers do not represent a civilization," he said.
Hollande called for tougher controls of the EU's borders after the attacks, saying the bloc required the implementation of "coordinated and systematic controls." He said: "If Europe does not control its external borders, then it's back to national borders. This would be the dismantling of the European Union."
He paid tribute to the 129 who lost their lives in the attacks, their loved ones, and the 99 people who remain in a critical condition after the shooting and suicide bomb attacks on bars, restaurants, a concert venue and France's national football stadium. He told both houses there were victims from 19 countries among the dead or wounded.
"Today, our country is in mourning," Hollande said. "We remember the innocents who died as they were mowed down by armed gunmen in the streets of Paris and in its suburbs. We think of the hundreds of young people, young boys and girls who have been traumatized by the attacks. Some are still fighting for their lives."
The French leader paid tribute to Paris's emergency services that reacted to the attacks and the healthcare system that treated those affected. He thanked the security services for their "courage" and saluted French pilots for their successful raids on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa late Sunday.
Both houses of the parliament sang the French national anthem at the conclusion of Hollande's address.
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