French president to visit aircraft carrier off Syria: Office

PARIS - Agence France-Presse

An aerian view shows the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier on November 22, 2015 in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. AFP photo

President Francois Hollande will on Dec. 4 visit the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean off Syria where it is being used to conduct air strikes on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets, his office said.
 
"He will meet military personnel taking part in operations to intensify the fight against Daesh in Syria and Iraq," a statement from the Elysee Palace said, using another name for the jihadist group that claimed it carried out the attacks in Paris three weeks ago.
 
Hollande is expected to meet fighter pilots and the crews that service the planes in his first visit to one of the sites from which France's military operations against ISIL are being launched.
 
The Socialist president has seen a surge in his popularity ratings since he declared "war" on ISIL after 130 people were killed by gunmen and suicide bombers in the French capital on Nov. 13.