France arrests suspected Islamists
French police arrested around 19 people in connection to suspected militant Islamist circles during dawn raids in several cities across the country Friday, France 24 reported.
Days after French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered a crackdown on radical Islamists following the deadly Toulouse shootings, French police arrested 19 people in early morning raids Friday in several cities, including Toulouse.
Speaking to FRANCE 24 shortly after the arrests, Cédric Delage, the Toulouse regional secretary for the French police union, UNSA-Police, said the DRCI conducted Friday’s raids “to look for groups or individuals who may be dangerous to the French state.”
In an interview with the French radio station Europe 1 Friday, Sarkozy gave no details about the arrests, or of what specifically the detainees are suspected.
“It's in connection with a form of Islamist radicalism,'' said Sarkozy.