On 14 April 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement that France's "red line has been crossed", in reference to the previous attacks on Douma. Beginning at 04:00 Syrian time (UTC+3), France, the United States, and the United Kingdom carried out a series of military strikes involving aircraft and ship-based missiles against multiple government sites in Syria. They said it was in response to the Douma chemical attack against civilians on 7 April, which they attributed to the Syrian government. The Syrian government denied involvement in the Douma attacks and called the airstrikes a violation of international law. On 20 April, the Syrian government returned the Légion d'honneur award that was given to President Bashar al-Assad by France in 2001, stating that he would not wear the award of a “slave country” to the US. Following the French participation in US led airstrikes on Damascus and Homs and France "disciplinary procedure" for withdrawing the award.