hour and a half it aears in the oval office before coming out for this press conference. they're going to take a couple of questions each. president hollande will not speak english. he's expected to speak in please be seated. president hollande, it's been an honor to welcome you to the white house before. in happier times than this. as americans, we stand by our friends. in good times and in bad. no matter what. so on behalf of the american people, i want to once again express our deepest condolences to you, and all of the people of france, for the heinous attacks

we're here today to declare that the united states and france stand united. in total solidarity. to deliver justice to the terrorists and those who sent them. and to defend our nations. in that spirit, with heavy but strong hearts, i welcome you here today. francois, with your understanding, my statement today will be a little longer today than usual. i've been traveling. and, this is an important moment for hour nations and the world. this barbaric terrorist group, isil or dash, in its murderous ideology pose a serious threat to all of us. it must be destroyed. we must do it together. this is the unity of purpose that brings us here today. on your visit here last year, you said that the french love

america. now we love the french. sometimes, we americans are too shy to say so. but we're not feeling shy today. the americans love france because we dedicate ourselves to the same ideals. that all people deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. france is our oldest ally. you helped us win our independence. we helped liberate france from fascism. we oh our freedom to each other. we love france for your spirit. and your culture. your joi devivre. americans have recommended our own visits to paris. we know these places. they're part of our memories. woven into the fabric of our

i'm very grateful for the french people tapped hop tallty they have always shown me and when they welcomed michelle and our daughters on their first visit to the city of lights. by my bed, in the residence is a picture of me and michelle in luxembourg gardens, kissing. those are the memories we have of paris. as early on, i have no gray hair. so when tragedy struck that evening, our hearts broke, too. that stadium and concert hall, those restaurants and cafes, we see our own. in the faces of the french people, we see ourselves. that's why so many americans have embraced the blue, white, and red. why americans at candle light vigils have joined together to

we have never forgotten how the french people stood with us after 9/11. and today, we stand with you. [ speaking french ] it's been noted that the terrorists did not direct their attacks against the french government or military. rather they focused their violence on the very spirit of france. by extension, on all liberal democracies. this was an attack on our free and open societies. where people come together to celebrate. and sing. and compete. and targeting venues where people come together from around the world, killing citizens of nearly 20 countries, including america. this was an take on the very idea that people of different races and religions and backgrounds can live together in peace. in short, this was not only a strike against one of the

it was an take against the world itself. it's the same madness that has slaughtered the intercept from nai from lebanon to iraq. it's a scourge that threatens all of us. that's why, for more than a year, the united states, france, and our coalition of some 65 nations have been united in one mission. to destroy these isil terrorists and defeat their vile ideology. today, president hollande and i progress. more than 8,000 air strikes combined with local partners on the ground, have pushed isil back from territory in both iraq and syria. today, president hollande and i more together. u.s. assistance that has supported recent french strikes

in syria. and we're going to keep stepping up that coordination. and as we saw, with the attack in mali, the terrorist threat goes beyond isil. this week, i'll sign legislation to sustain our support, including air sport and intelligence to countries like france. as rewoot out terrorist networks. we'll do more to prevent attacks at home. building on our recent intelligence agreement, we'll and in the wake of paris and with the threats in belgium, there's a fwroeing recognition among european nations that they need to ramp up efforts to proe vent the flow of foreign fighters. as part of that, i'm calling on the european union to finally implement the agreement long in the works that would require airlines to share passenger information, so we can do more

fighters from entering our countries undetected. i'm prepared to send team of experts to work on this with our european partners to make sure we're redoubling our efforts together. regarding the broader crisis in syria. president hollande and i agree that russia's strikes against the moderate opposition only bolster the assad regime. we agree russia could play a more constructive role if it were to shift the focus of its strike to defeating isil. and like wise, president hollande and i free the best way to bring peace is through the that. they require an active support

of peace from russia. finally, francois and i understand that one of our greatest weapons in the fight against isil is the strength and resilience of our people. and here i want to speak correctly correct ly -- directly to the american people. what happened in paris is truly horrific. i understand that people worried that something similar could happen here. i want you to know that we will continue to do power to defend our nation. since 9/11, we have taken extraordinary measures to strengthen security. our professionals, federal, state, and local, they are tireless. they have prevented attacks and have saved lives. they are working every hour, every day for our security. they did so before paris.

and they will not stop. they're the best in the world. but it's not just our security professionals who will defeat isil and other terrorist groups. as americans, we all have a role to play many in how we respond to threats. groups like isil cannot defeat us on the battlefield. so they try to terrorize us at home. against soft targets, intercept people. even as we're vigilant, we cannot and we will not succumb to fear. nor can we allow fear to divide us. that's how terrorists win. we cannot give them the victory of changing how we go about living our lives. the good news is, americans are

we mourned the lives lost at ft. hood. the boston marathon. chattanooga. but we did not waver. our communities have come together. we have gone to ball games and we have gone to concerts and shopping and men and women who want to serve our country continue to go to military recruiting offices. we're vigilant. we take precautions. we go about our business. to those who want to harm us, our actions have shown that we have too much resolve and too much character. americans will not be terrorized. i say all this because another part of being vigilant, another part of defeating terrorists like isil is upholding the the rights and freedoms that define

our two great republics. that includes freedom of re religion. equality before the law. there have been times in our history in moments of fear when we have failed to uphold our highest ideals. and it has been to our lasting regret. we must uphold our ideals now. each of us. all of us. must show that america is strengthened by people of every faith and every back ground. related to this, i want to note that under president hollande france plans to welcome another 30,000 syrian refugees over the next two years. here in the united states, refugees in america go through up to two years of intense security check, including biometric screening.

nobody who sets foot in america goes through more screening than refugees. we're prepared to share the tools with france and our european partners. as francois has said, our humanitarian duty to help refugees and our duty to security, they go hand this hand. on the statue of liberty, a gift from the people of france, there are words we know so well. give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to be free. that's the spirit that makes us america. that's the spirit that binds us to france. that's the spirit we need today. in closing, i want to salute the

world how to stay strong in the face of terrorism. even as day grieve, parisians have continued to go to places. cafes, to work. riding the subways. including a mother who brought her children to the plaza de republique. as one said, paris will always be paris. next week, i will be joining president hollande and world leaders in paris for the global climate conference. what a powerful rebuke to the terrorists it will be when the world stands as one and shows that we will not be deterred from building a better future for our children. so, president hollande, my

we face greater threats to our way of life before. fascism fascism, communism. the first world war. the second. a cold war. even and each and every time, we prevailed. we have prevailed because our way of life is stronger. because we stay united. because even as we are relentless in the face of evil, we draw on what's best in ourselves. and in the character of our countries. it will be no different this time. make no mistake, we will win. and groups like isil will lose. and standing with allies like france, we'll continue to show the world the best of american leadership. vive la france. god bless the united states of

mr. president. >> translator: ladies and gentlemen, please allow me first and foremost to thank the president of the united states, barack obama, for the solidarity he's shown. immediately as we found out about the terror attacks. he was the first one to call me. it was very late. in france. 2:00 a.m. when barack called. the president of the united states. how he expressed his solidarity toward france, his emotion, his compassion against the horror. and -- on that night, he meant to tell me that the united states stood by france. that the help that could be provided to france would have no

joint duty, to pull our forces together and fight terrorism. i do not forget either all of the messages that the american people sent to the french people over the past few days. the french colors, the french flags, all abound in many gatherings. these candles in places that represent france here in the united states. the marseilles, our national anthem sung in official ceremonies. it is true that 9/11 we all felt americans. but after the 13th of november, americans felt french. our two peoples, together, merged as one.

sharing the same emotion. and also the same willingness to fight for freedom, to stand for our values. we are not two similar peoples. we each have our own history. we have our own culture, background. but, we share the same trust. the same faith in freedom. it is france that came under attack on the 13th of november. france, for what it is, a country which we consider unique in the world because france speaks to the world. france came under attack for what it represents, for what it stands for. for its culture. a way of living. as well as our values. our principles.

but by targeting france, the terrorists, the cowardly murders who are were targeting the world. in these restaurants, cafes, as well as the bataclan. they were men and women, most of them young. who came from 0 20 countries at least, who shared the same passion for life. and that's the reason they were murdered. my thoughts are with the friends and family of a young american student, nohemi gonzalez, who came as well to share a moment of culture and joy. i -- pi thoughts go to the american band that was playing at the bataclan. our cultures on that occasion were together.

to bring the same enthusiasm and they were hit by terrorists. we are facing a terror group which organized its on a territory. they have substantial resources. they are striving on smuggling of oil, drug, human beings. and since the beginning of the year, they hit many countries. denmark, tunisia, lebanon, kuwait. turkey turkey. egypt. as well as russia. by taking down the russian jet. we had the meeting. first of all to share -- share our determination, relentless

everywhere and any where. we also managed to tell the world that we will not allow those who want to destroy what we've built, we will not allow them to do it. to destroy what we've built generation after generation. they will not be able to damage the world. and against that, we need a joint response. an impeccable joint response. france and the united states stand together. militarily, it's about destroying them. it's about taking out their financing. hunting down their leaders. dismantling their networks. and taking back the land they currently controlled.

we decided, president obama and myself, to brond the scope in iraq and syria. to strengthen our intelligence sharing regarding the targets we must tas. the priority is to take back kilo occasions in the hands of daesh this syria. it is also a matter of urgency to close the border between turkey and syria. and prevent terrorists from crossing the border and coming to europe or other places and undertake such terrible attacks. we plan to work with our partners and support all of those who are fighting daesh on the ground. the aim is to make sure these forces can be supported, helped,

willing to act militarily to destroy daesh. the resolution of the security council voted unanimously friday after being introduced by france and supported by the united states, this resolution provides us with the clear basis to act. this is what france is currently doing. our aircraft carrier, charles de gaulle, is in the east of the mediterranean and allows us to yesterday, for the sixth time after the terror attacks in paris, we struck. in addition we have been providing in some assistance into iraqi fighters in the region of ramadi and in mosul, within the framework of the coalition. diplomatically, both president obama and myself have strengthened our cooperation as

attacks and i would like to commend everything that is being done so that intelligence and information available can be used to tackle terrorists and to follow their movements so that we prevent from doing what they want to do because, beyond syria, what they want is somehow to spread fear everywhere. so that we doubt, so that we make decisions which are exactly contrary to what we want in terms of freedom and rights. but we will not give in. that said, we have to defend ourselves and use intelligence. diplomat you cannily, we're working on a political transition noo sere in syria.

ministers to work on the timeline that will lead to a cease-fire as quickly as possible. and to lead to bashar al assad's departure. we cannot imagine the syrians getting together, gathering round the leader who is responsible for some of the most of 300,000 deaths in a few years. so, a government ofunity is required. that would lead to assad's departure. the crisis is relevant to europe. given the terrorist threat. but also because there are millions of refugees fleeing the

if we were to abandon them, it would betray who we are. and terrorism. at the same time, we must conform the borders. today, people are risking their lives to flee. when they travel between turkey and greece. turkey, therefore, plays an important role. it is together, with turkey, that we must find solutions. so other refugees can stay close to their country of origin. and we need to make sure that the required controls, the checks are implemented at the border. on thursday,ly travel to moscow to meet with vladimir putin.

together with russia, if russia concentrates its military action on daesh. against isil, and if russia fully commits to political solution in syria. this is what we want to do. we want to gather all countries, all those two who are willing to find and inch plemt a political solution in syria. we don't want to exclude anyone. but, we want to make sure that this political solution can eradicate frichl. terrorism. lastly, next week, that is on monday, we will be hosting in paris the climate conference. i certainly could not imagine that this conference would be taking place against such a background.

cannot be any better symbol or response but to hold the conference in paris, where the attacks took place, where we took the right measures in terms of security, protections, as well as in defending our values. there is no greater symbol than holding this conference on climate in paris, with some 150 heads of state and government. never before did france host so many leaders of the international community. they're coming to work on climate challenge. again, to work and to find the right agreements so that we can limit greenhouse gas emissions and make sure that our children and grandchildren live better or simply can live.

but they are also coming to express their support to extremism. that radical islam which is becoming dangerous. yes, all of them are coming no matter their background. in matter their religion, their convictions, to express the same principles, values, with the life. yes, simply life. and this is the reason why i'm very pleased that president obama will allow us to succeed. i commend his recent statements in the past few weeks and months. i commend the commitment he's made in the name of the united states as well as in the name of

it was very important that one of the most powerful countries in the world, if not the most powerful and therefore, with the highest level of a mission, could also be there. to face the future like we have been facing history. what we will be doing early next week in paris means that we can continue to live as well as protect our lives and prepare that of all for children. france and the united states, given their history, and the values, the founding values of both our nations, given our spirits, we both have that duty to act as a matter of urgency. urge

urgeently against terrorism and