PARIS (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday said reports of a chemical attack in a rebel-held town in Syria were extremely worrying and called for the United Nations Security Council to meet quickly to examine the situation.

Le Drian said France strongly condemned attacks and bombings by Syrian government forces in the last 24 hours in the town of Douma, in eastern Ghouta, adding they were a “gross violation of international humanitarian law.”

France would work with allies to verify reports that chemical weapons were used, Le Drian said.

Referring to President Emmanuel Macron’s warning that France could strike unilaterally if there was a deadly chemical attack, Le Drian said that Paris would assume all its responsibilities in the fight against the proliferation of chemical weapons.