PARIS, Feb 22 (Reuters) - France holds Syria responsible for the safety of its citizens there, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday, after a French photographer was killed in a Syrian army bombardment of a rebel stronghold.

Juppe said that a Syrian army ceasefire in order to give rapid access to humanitarian aid was "imperative", adding that the response by the Syrian government to the wounding of a second French journalist who was reportedly in danger of dying from her wounds was insufficient.

"This situation is horrific," Juppe told reporters. "France holds the Syrian authorities responsible and accountable for the lives of our citizens, for the lives of our injured."

U.S. journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik died when 11 rockets hit a building where they were staying, and freelance French journalist Edith Bouvier was in a critical condition in a poorly equipped field hospital. (Reporting by John Irish; Writing by Catherine Bremer)