France invokes EU mutual defense clause

France invokes EU mutual defense clause for first time in history following Paris attacks

Following the attacks in Paris, France made a formal call for military help from its EU partners on Tuesday by invoking a mutual defense clause of the European Union’s Lisbon treaty.

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels where EU defense ministers gathered on Tuesday, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said: “Yesterday the President of the [French] Republic invoked article 42.7 of the treaty and asked me this morning to raise that here at the defense council.”

“This is the first time it has been invoked and there was unanimous support and that is a political act – a very important significant one,” Le Drian said.

A wave of shootings and bomb blasts in and just outside of Paris on Friday night claimed the lives of 129 people.

According to the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, “armed aggression” on any EU member state would enforce other member states to provide “aid and assistance by all means in their power”.

“Either there will be cooperation in terms of pulling capabilities, so French intervention in Syria and Iraq, or there will be support given [to] other operations elsewhere,” Le Drian said.

France has not invoked the NATO mutual defense clause, which declares that an attack against a NATO member is an attack against all allies. It has only been invoked once, by the U.S. after the 9/11 attacks.