Furious over a government plan to impose a tax on them, French soccer teams have unanimously agreed to scrap matches over one weekend at the end of November as a protest.
The U.S. found itself with France as its only major partner in a potential strike against Syria, after a rejection of military force in Parliament forced Britain, America's staunchest ally, to pull out of any operation.
French President Francois Hollande said a British parliamentary vote against taking military action in Syria would not affect France's will to act to punish Bashar al-Assad's government.