Syria ? Civil servants and students massed in the streets Monday to protest a U.N. report implicating Syria in the killing of a Lebanese leader, joining in a government-orchestrated campaign to drum up support before a U.N. Security Council meeting.

The United States and Britain were pushing for the council to take a tough stand against Syria at a meeting Tuesday, but France said sanctions shouldn’t be voted on until investigators finish looking into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“Let us allow that commission to run its full course,” French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told reporters in Paris.

At the same time, French diplomats at the United Nations were working with U.S. officials trying to mobilize support for a strong resolution demanding that Syria cooperate fully with the investigation.