France will welcome 24,000 people who have fled conflict zones to other European nations under a plan to deal with the continent’s biggest refugee crisis in a generation, President François Hollande said Monday.

“Armenpress” reports, referring to The Wall Street Journal that speaking at a news conference, Mr. Hollande also said France will ready air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria, deepening the country’s involvement in the civil war that is producing most of the refugees who have fled to Europe.

Mr. Hollande said the move was aimed at stopping terrorist plots against France being prepared in Islamic State’s Syrian territory and protecting Syrian civilians. The French premier said his country would accept refugees as part of an obligatory scheme to redistribute the hundreds of thousands of people that have arrived in the European Union this year, many from war­torn countries who are seeking refuge in Western Europe.

“The important word is ��?obligatory,’” Mr. Hollande said. “That’s the difference between what was or wasn’t done in recent months.

A voluntary effort launched earlier this year by EU governments to redistribute 40,000 migrants fell short of that target. Most of the refugees are now trying to reach Germany, where officials have said they expect 800,000 to demand asylum this year alone.

“I don’t think we can leave Germany alone to deal with this,” Mr. Hollande said, while revealing that the overall plan will redistribute 120,000 refugees. Polls show that the majority of French people are opposed to the increase in refugees entering France.