Why France might not turn to NATO for help

By Jacqueline Klimas, Jacqueline Klimas

Published December 20, 2015

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The attacks in Paris could prompt a response from NATO under the article of collective self-defense, but some analysts predicted France would opt to form a coalition rather than working through the slower-moving international agency.

Experts said Saturday that the string of six coordinated attacks Friday afternoon, which French President Francois Hollande called "an act of war," would be covered under Article 5 of the NATO Washington Treaty, which if invoked would require other members to respond to the violence in France as if it had taken place in their own countries.

The U.S. is the only nation to have ever invoked Article 5 support after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.