Why did French warplanes strike Al-Raqqah after the Paris attacks?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

French warplanes struck Al-Raqqah, Syria, on November 15, 2015, as a direct retaliatory measure following the terrorist attacks in Paris that occurred two days earlier.1

After the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the bloodshed, French President François Hollande characterized the violence as an "act of war". Because Al-Raqqah served as the de facto capital of ISIL, the airstrikes were launched to target the organization responsible for the attacks, marking a significant escalation in France's military involvement in the Syrian Civil War.123