Removing Assad no longer priority in Syria: Macron

France no longer sees the departure of President Bashar al-Assad as a priority in the Syrian conflict, President Emmanuel Macron said on June 22, making the policy official for the first time.

The new French leader said instead that fighting jihadists such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had to be the international community's number one goal in a conflict that grew out of protests against the Syrian president in 2011 but has since become increasingly complex and multifaceted.

"The real change I've made on this question, is that I haven't said the deposing of Bashar al-Assad is a prerequisite for everything," Macron said in an interview with several European newspapers, including Britain's Guardian, Spain's El Pais and Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

"Because no one has introduced me to his legitimate successor," said the French president, who took office last month.

His comments were met with dismay by the Syrian opposition.

"Shame on France, whose leader Emmanuel Macron does not see Bashar as its enemy or an enemy to humanity," tweeted Ahmed Ramadan, a member of the Syrian National Coalition, the main umbrella organization of opposition groups.

"A tragic fall for morality and humanity," Ramadan added.

Khaled Khoja, another opposition figure, posted on Twitter: "Macron's statements are surprising, considering that France was among four countries in the core Friends of Syria group - in addition to Britain, Turkey, and Qatar - that had supported the departure of 'Chemical' Bashar."

Macron said he now saw two key priorities in Syria.

"My line is clear: one, a total fight against terrorist groups. They are our enemies... We need the cooperation of everyone to eradicate...