"Russia is many things, but if Russian power can keep France safe, Hollande is likely to snatch at it."

Why France is Ground Zero in the war on terror

"It may be best for President Obama’s political legacy not to send combat troops back to Iraq, but he is buying that legacy with French lives.  And Belgian ones, for that matter.  Turks too.  And Syrians above all.  

Almost certainly, France will now abandon its subordination to the United States in the ISIS war.  It will abandon its efforts to get rid of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and abandon its efforts to rid the Levant of Russian and Iranian influence.  Now it needs to destroy the beast.  If America will not step up and lead the campaign, Russia is more than willing.  The next step might well be a tacit revival of the old French-Russian alliance of a century ago, if not in Europe than in the Middle East.  Russia is many things, but if Russian power can keep France safe, Hollande is likely to snatch at it."