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"We do not agree with what Russia is doing, bombarding Aleppo. France is committed as never before to saving the population of Aleppo," Jean-Marc Ayrault said, The Independent reports.

French call for International Court of Justice to intervene comes following Russian veto of UN draft resolution, which called for an end to all air strikes except those against ISIS. This was the fifth time Russia had used its veto to block UN action in the almost six-year-long civil war.

Russia's own rival measure on a truce which called for a ceasefire but did not mention airstrikes was also rejected.

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Read alsoHollande says unsure whether to receive Putin during Paris visit - ReutersFrance has previously appealed to Russia to save rebel-held east Aleppo from total destruction. The besieged area, home to 250,000 people, has been subjected to unprecedented Russian-backed shelling by President Bashar al-Assad's forces since the breakdown of a US-Russian brokered ceasefire last month. 

The bombing has killed at least 338 people, the World Heath Organisation says, in what has been one of the bloodiest offensives in the war.