Police arrest 19 French Islamists in raids on cities

Police have arrested 19 suspected Islamists and seized weapons during dawn raids in several French cities, President Nicolas Sarkozy said today.

He revealed that further similar operations by security forces are now planned, as France reacts to its worst terrorist attacks in two decades.

Mr Sarkozy gave no details about the reasons for the arrests or what crimes the detainees are alleged to have committed but said: “It’s all in connection with a form of Islamist radicalism.”

Some of the raids were in the southern city of Toulouse, where extremist Mohammed Merah filmed himself killing seven victims.

Sources said the operation, orchestrated by the main French intelligence agency the DCRI, was not connected to the inquiry into the shootings.

As well as Toulouse, there were raids and arrests in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Lyon and Le Mans. The operation also focused on the northern city of Nantes — reputed to be a centre for the Forsane Alizza (Knights of Pride) group, to which Merah was thought to be linked.

Sources said a number of weapons had been seized, including at least one Kalashnikov rifle.

Gunman Merah murdered three Jewish schoolchildren, three paratroopers and a rabbi. The 23-year-old Frenchman and radical Islamist, who claimed to have links with al Qaeda, was killed in a gunfight with police last week and buried near Toulouse yesterday.

His rampage has revived fears of home-grown Islamic extremists launching terrorist attacks.

French Muslims have expressed concerns about a backlash following the murders and the country’s leaders have urged the public not to equate the religion with terrorism.

As citizens’ concern over radical Islam rises, the government yesterday banned a string of international Muslim clerics from entering France for a conference by a fundamentalist group.

Mr Sarkozy said he did not know whether the 19 arrested suspects were part of any network.

“There will be other operations that will continue and they will allow us to expel from our national territory a certain number of people who have no reason to be here,” he said.

The president, who is fighting a tough battle for re-election, added: “It is our duty to guarantee the security of the French people.

“We have got no choice. It’s absolutely indispensable.”