The demonstrations came amid calls for the United Kingdom to continue strikes against the “Islamic State” (IS) terrorist organization.
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Mr Hollande, who was speaking at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta, said the Paris attacks showed “man is the worst enemy of man”.
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Endorsing the idea of a free vote, Mr McDonnell said the “horrendous mistake” of the Iraq war had been partly due to MPs being “whipped and threatened and pushed” into supporting “something many of them did not believe in”.
Thousands of protesters are set to gather outside Downing Street on Saturday (November 28) to oppose Prime Minister David Cameron’s plans to extend Britain’s bombing campaign from Iraq to Syria.
And those on Labour’s benches who might be prepared to consider supporting military action will depend on the strength of Mr Cameron’s arguments on Thursday.
Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, claimed there was now growing “momentum” among MPs in support of airstrikes.
The main opposition Labour Party is divided on airstrikes.
He now faces a shadow cabinet revolt, with many of his MPs shocked at his position and some accusing him of a “failure of leadership”.
But many MPs are still troubled by the memory of unpopular British interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan under then Labour prime minister Tony Blair. “There are proper issues to be discussed about this – about what sort of ground forces, what alliances should be made with countries in the region”.
“On certain issues, the ones really above party politics, we have got to have mature politics in our democracy now”.
Also, Labour veteran and Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field stepped forward to declare that Jeremy Corbyn should resign, saying Labour “needs an alternative leader”.
Warley MP John Spellar described Mr Corbyn’s behaviour as “unacceptable”.
Stop The War, which Mr Corbyn co-chaired until elected leader, also urged backers to put pressure on MPs, while Left-wing shadow minister Diane Abbott warned: “I know what views party members will take if MPs ignore the views of the people at the grass roots”.
“If anyone should resign after this incident, it should be Jeremy Corbyn”.
Meanwhile, the depth of divisions on the Labour front bench over the issue has become clearer.
“I think David Cameron can win the vote with just Conservatives”.
But yesterday both Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn and Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson said they had no intention of quitting despite both defying Mr Corbyn to support airstrikes.
It led to speculation that some members of the Shadow Cabinet could be forced to resign.
“There will be resignations among senior members of the shadow cabinet over this”, an unnamed senior shadow cabinet member told the BBC.
Cameron is hoping to find some support among Labour lawmakers, who are deeply split over Corbyn’s anti-war stance.
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Cameron released a document Thursday, setting out his plan for British air strikes in Syria.
