PARIS — France has declared war on al-Qaida, and matched its fighting words with a first attack on a base camp of the terror network's North African branch, after terrorists killed a French aid worker taken hostage in April.
The declaration and attack marked a shift in strategy for France, usually discrete about its behind-the-scenes battle against terrorism.
"We are at war with al-Qaida," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Tuesday, a day after President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the death of 78-year-old hostage Michel Germaneau.
