"The President informed Hollande that after careful deliberation he has determined it is in the national security interest of the United States to take limited military action against the Syrian government to confront this atrocity, and informed him that he would call on the Congress to authorise the use of military force in Syria," the White House said in a statement yesterday.
Earlier, Hollande has said that France is still ready to take action in Syria alongside the US, despite UK MPs blocking British involvement.
On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry called France America's "oldest ally" as he praised the country for its support of military action in Syria. America's warm words for France represent a significant turnaround from the hostility of a decade ago, when France refused to back the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Obama's decision came a day after his administration released its intelligence assessment blaming the Assad regime for using chemical weapons against its own people that killed 1,429, including at least 426 children.
Though he announced his decision to bypass the UN Security Council, which he alleged has been paralysed, Obama said he would seek the US Congress' approval for his administration to take military action against the Assad regime.