French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reacts during a news conference following a meeting by a dozen members of the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in Paris, France, October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Sunday the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State should begin the battle on the group’s Syrian bastion Raqqa while the offensive on Mosul is underway, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

“I believe it will be necessary,” he told Europe 1 radio.

Le Drian, whose country is the second-biggest contributor to the coalition, added that the battle on Mosul would be long and complicated given that Islamic State was embedding itself within the local population.