French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has defended his country’s participation in airstrikes against militant group ISIL.
He was speaking during a debate in the French parliament.
“It is not our (military) intervention which exposes us to terrorism. This threat is here, it has existed for a long time, and that is why we are taking action and why we are intervening,” said Valls.
French forces joined the US on September 19 in carrying out airstrikes against ISIL. The militant group has overrun large parts of Syria and Iraq.