The scourge of terrorism has proven that man is his own worst enemy, French President Francois Hollande told journalists in Malta yesterday.
Speaking during a press conference at the Golden Sands resort where Commonwealth leaders met to debate climate change, Mr Hollande said mankind was making matters difficult for itself on several fronts.
“We have seen this with terrorism and the recent attacks in France, and we have also seen it with climate change and the way we are treating our planet. We, mankind, are our own worst enemy,” he said.
Mr Hollande was brief in his statement and did not take questions. His whirlwind trip to Malta came just a few hours after a ceremony in Paris honouring the victims of recent terror attacks earlier this month which shocked the international community.
Some 130 people were killed and scores injured in a series of coordinated attacks at a football stadium, concert hall and a number of bars and restaurants in a bustling residential area in Paris. Islamic State soon claimed responsibility for the attacks, with the French President later describing it as an “act of war”. The French military has since launched airstrikes against IS strongholds in Syria and Mr Hollande has been visiting countries in a bid to rally support for his stand on IS.
Yesterday he said he was hoping British parliamentarians would support their prime minister’s request for authorisation to allow bombing raids in Syria. Despite the “terrible incidents in Paris”, he said he had been adamant on attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta to discuss climate change.
The UN climate summit will be held in Paris next week and Mr Hollande said he would not let terrorist attacks stop leaders from meeting around a table to discuss the matter. The talks have been highly anticipated by climate change campaigners after the failure of a similar summit back in 2009 to reach any concrete agreements.
Mr Hollande said that while he feared certain states may delay any possible agreement, he hoped for overall consent.