gold, page-43213

"the UK collaboration comes as no surprise. They threw their lot in with Washington a long time ago.
France continues to be a disappointment, with a foreign policy which is hopelessly adrift .."

https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/syria/france-and-syria/

What do they hope to gain? "

With France and Britain being in that order the two most important military members of the EU the message to Putin seems to be clear: Although Britain is leaving we are and plan to keep on being united in in terms of our military and geopolitical interests.
And "European leaders on Saturday expressed wide support for overnight strikes against the Syrian regime by the U.S., U.K. and France, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling the intervention “necessary and appropriate.”"