French closes its embassy in Damascus

France said Friday it is closing its embassy in Syria, a day after two French journalists escaped to Lebanon after being trapped for days in the besieged Syrian city of Homs.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy made the announcement in Brussels, where EU leaders were debating their response to the Syrian military's crackdown on the opposition uprising in Syria, the huffingtonpost.com reports.

The EU leaders also were discussing a proposed joint statement that would call for those responsible for the repression in Syria to be held to account for human rights violations against civilians.

The United States and Britain already have closed their embassies in Syria, the Washington Post reports.
“We have decided to close our embassy,” Sarkozy told reporters in Brussels.