French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian claims that "victory over ISIS will only be achieved with the presence of forces on the ground," though he added that he is not necessarily talking about using French forces.
In an interview with the Europe 1 radio station, Le Drian said that the fact that the Yazidi town of Sinjar in northern Iraq has returned to Kurdish control proves that the defeat of ISIS requires ground forces. "It takes both airstrikes and a ground incursion by forces that will restore control over the conquered territories."
He added: "These can be the Kurds or the Free Syrian Army fighters, but France is not planning on a ground invasion at this time."