High stakes for Macron as France weighs Syria strike

In laying his integrity on the line over Syria's suspected use of chemical weapons, French President Emmanuel Macron might be playing for even higher stakes -- maintaining the landmark Iran nuclear accord, analysts say.

The 40-year-old leader, weighing the first foreign military operation on his own initiative, has made clear he considers Damascus behind a suspected chemical attack in the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma last weekend that killed at least 40 people.

Macron's response is expected to be high on the agenda during a TV interview this afternoon, only his third since the centrist swept to power last year.

For many experts, he has no choice but to enforce his "red line" on the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime, which would prompt French military strikes.

"Unlike previous incidents, alleged or real, in recent months, what happened Saturday in Douma is a huge and evident violation of Western red lines," said Bruno Tertrais, a political scientist at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS). "If France doesn't react now that the conditions are met, we would lose all credibility," he said.

The country, victim of the first extensive use of chemical weapons in military history during World War I, has long made combatting chemical weapons a priority.

It worries that allowing such attacks by Syria's President Bashar al-Assad could set a dangerous precedent for other repressive regimes.

Many French officials still bristle over former US president Barack Obama's last-minute pullback on Syria strikes after a chemical attack in 2013.The decision shocked the French, whose planes were poised for launch to participate in the operation.

"Emmanuel Macron has tied his hands," said Francois Heisbourg of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "He's in the same position as Obama in 2013, and if he decides not to follow through, there will be a political price to pay."