Asked during a television interview if she wanted Assad to be tried, Catherine Colonna said "the answer is yes", adding that "the battle against crime, against impunity is part of French diplomacy."

"Every time I have to address the Syrian issue, our priorities include this fight against impunity," she insisted.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recently returned to the regional scene by participating in the Arab League summit on Friday after more than a decade of exclusion.

However, the French minister underscored that the lifting of European sanctions was "certainly not" on the agenda, nor was a change in France's position regarding the Syrian president.

"As long as he does not change, as long as he does not make commitments to reconciliation, to fighting terrorism, to combating drugs, and as long as he does not respect his commitments, there is no reason to change our attitude towards him," she also noted.

"I believe it is up to him to change; it is not up to France to change its stance," she concluded.