MYSTERY OF THE “TOULOUSE SHOOTER”

The tragic events in the south of France ended with unpredictable results on 22 March. The alleged killer of seven people, Mohammed Mehra, was shot by a sniper as he tried to escape through the window of his apartment, which was besieged by the French special force for more than thirty hours. Earlier, Defence Minister Longuet said that security forces hoped to take the suspect alive - but it did not happen. Nor were answers found to questions that arose after the adventures of the "Toulouse shooter".

First things first

On 11 March, an unknown person on a scooter, stolen on 6 March, killed a French army sergeant of Arab origin and fled the scene in Toulouse. Four days later, three soldiers of Arab appearance, standing by a roadside ATM, were also shot in Montauban - 50 kilometres from Toulouse. On seeing that one of the wounded was trying to crawl away, the killer got off his scooter and coolly finished him off with three shots at close range. As a result, two of the soldiers were killed and the third one was seriously wounded. The news appeared in the media as an ordinary criminal incident. But things did not end here. On 19 March, an unknown person drove up to the Jewish Lyceum in Toulouse, killing the thirty-year-old Rabbi Sandler and his two sons. Then, he went into the yard of the educational centre and shot the seven-year daughter of the director of the lyceum in the head. A stray bullet wounded a 17-year-old schoolgirl. The killer first fired from an assault rifle and then finished them off with a Colt gun.

The tragedy at the Jewish school alarmed the entire French public. In many cities, crowds of people spontaneously took to the streets. On the night of 21 March, the French special force (RAID) besieged the house of Mohammed Mehra - the "Toulouse shooter" was identified a few hours earlier, and the prosecutor ordered his arrest on a special "anti-terrorist" procedure that makes it possible to invade a private home without waiting for the morning. In response to the special force's proposal to open the door, Mehra opened fire: as a result, one police officer was wounded in the knee and another - in the shoulder.

After the shooting, an order was issued to begin negotiations with the criminal. Mohammed Mehra threw the Colt out of the window in exchange for a portable radio, warning that he had one more Uzi, a Kalashnikov rifle, a bomb and a couple of pistols. Prior to that, the police detained the suspect's mother and older brother. Firearms and explosives were also found in their house and car.

According to French Interior Minister Claude Gueant, the terrorist was quite talkative and said that he was acting on behalf of Al Qaeda, taking revenge for the death of Palestinian children killed by Israelis, for France's participation in the war in Afghanistan, as well as for the burqa ban. Mehra regretted that he failed to perform the intended plan and did not conceal his delight that he had "brought France to its knees". He did not consider himself a kamikaze and wanted to live. First, he promised to give himself up after dinner and then, late at night. He played for time. As there were no hostages, the police were in no hurry to launch an operation and decided to take him by starvation. The minister insisted that the criminal should be taken alive: first, not to let him become a martyr, and second, to administer justice.

It is known that Mohammed Mehra had already been watched by the French security services for several years. It was also known that he was close to the Salafi ideological circles, but no signs of preparations for terrorist attacks were found.

Almost all French news agencies stressed that Mohammed Mehra was a member of Al Qaeda and was committed to ideas of jihadism. They also said that he had participated in combat operations in Afghanistan, where he was arrested for a bombing, but escaped from prison three months after his imprisonment.

As has already been mentioned, the events in France, the selected time, nature, and, finally, outcome cause a lot of questions. First of all, how could it happen that a person who was under the close surveillance of the French secret service could easily move around the country on a stolen scooter, shooting people in various cities? As a citizen of France, Mehra had visited

Afghanistan and Pakistan twice. While in Afghanistan, he was arrested by US forces and handed over to France where he was listed by the local police as a suspect in petty criminal cases. Despite this, he felt quite at ease and was able to acquire an arsenal of weapons found later in apartments owned by him and his brothers.

Second, how could a man, who, according to the official version, explained his actions by revenge "for Palestinian children and other Muslims", shoot three people of Arab extraction - his brothers in faith?

Third, couldn't the French police take him alive, neutralizing him with gas or other means at hand?

But the most interesting thing is the timing of the attacks: there is only one month until the French presidential elections scheduled for 22 April.

What history teaches us

This is not the first time that bloody events have influenced the French election campaign. Experts draw an analogy with the events of 1988, when a few days before the next round of presidential elections, French paratroopers who landed in New Caledonia conducted an operation to free hostages held by fighters for the independence of the French overseas territory. During the operation to free hostages, 19 militants and two parachutists were killed.

Re-elected as president, Francois Mitterrand, who had sanctioned the operation as commander-in-chief, spoke of its outcome "with regret". His rival - Prime Minister Jacques Chirac - on the contrary, expressed his satisfaction with "warmest congratulations" to the military. According to experts, it was this misstep by candidate Chirac that became one of the reasons for his failure in the elections.

We should not forget about the events preceding the 2002 campaign: on 27 March, a 33-year-old native of Slovenia, Richard Durn, opened fire with automatic weapons in the room where the council of the Paris suburb of Nanterre was holding a public meeting. Eight deputies were killed and more than twenty people were injured. Durn was detained and questioned by the Paris criminal police, and shortly after that, he committed suicide by jumping out of the window in the interrogation hall.

At a campaign rally the very next day, President Chirac, who defended his mandate, blamed the rise in crime and violence on the socialist government, headed by his chief rival - Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The prime minister found no decent answer, and soon suffered a sensational defeat, conceding the second round to the National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who focused on problems of security and the fight against crime.

No matter how cynical it sounds...

Clearly, the latest events will also affect the upcoming presidential elections in France. Regardless of whether it is a coincidence or not, Sarkozy's ratings went up by 2-3 per cent after the tragic events in the south of France. Immediately after the shooting at the Jewish school, he and his chief opponent - the socialist Francois Hollande - announced "the termination of their campaign for two days", but he appeared on television more often than on ordinary days. The president came to Toulouse, met with relatives of the deceased, personally visited the crime scene, the funeral of the French officers, and arrived at the besieged building where Mohammed Mehra was hiding. According to the prearranged plan of the special operation, Sarkozy was to personally negotiate with the suspect, but those plans went awry. In 1993 when a terrorist threatened to kill several children taken hostage in Paris, MP Sarkozy managed to convince the terrorist to release the hostages, thus winning fame and appreciation from citizens. During all these actions, the president of France was accompanied by television cameras, to which he repeatedly made statements that "no acts of terrorists and enemies can destroy the national unity of the French people who particularly need solidarity these days". Sarkozy also threatened to prosecute anyone who visits websites inciting hatred and advocating terrorism.

Other candidates also responded to the tragic events. Marine Le Pen more openly spoke of the need to combat illegal immigration and is trying to maintain her status as the main fighter for the purity of the nation. As for Hollande, he also has something to say. For the fact that more than 300 riot police forces failed to take the offender alive after a 32-hour siege, as well as other mistakes by the security services provide Sarkozy's rivals with grounds to criticize his administration.

Analysts point out that, until the recent events, Hollande was ahead of Sarkozy in opinion polls. In their opinion, one of the obvious reasons for the unsuccessful presidential race for Sarkozy is his first presidential term, which cannot be called successful. The economic crisis that shook the whole of Europe affected France as well. The French did not like the president's hyperactivity, frequent scandals accompanying him, and his excessive desire for glamour. Sarkozy's rating was also affected by the revelations of the son of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, in whose overthrow Sarkozy played an active role. After the murder of his father, Qaddafi Jr said that Libya had financed Sarkozy's election campaign in 2007 and asked to return the money. The French president himself, of course, denies the "Libyan trace" in his past.

Among the major setbacks of Nicolas Sarkozy's foreign policy are his attempts to strengthen the role of France in the Middle East. Using all the means to compete with Turkey in this region, Paris almost completely ruined its relations with Ankara, actively supporting the bill on criminalizing the denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" in 1915 in an attempt to enlist the support of the Armenian diaspora in France ahead of the presidential election.

In addition to Hollande, Marine Le Pen, the daughter of the well-known nationalist politician Jean-Marie Le Pen and candidate from the National Front, also has strong positions. Marine Le Pen is known for her nationalistic ideas - such as tougher policies against immigrants and the country's withdrawal from NATO. Le Pen's voters are conservative and ultra-right parts of French society, who, according to polls, make up 20-23 per cent of the total electorate.

Analysts believe that the fate of the presidency will be decided in the second round, into which Sarkozy and Hollande are more likely to get. And the votes of Le Pen's electorate may be decisive here. Since Hollande is a socialist and most of his voters are moderate citizens who are more interested in economic and social issues, Sarkozy will be greatly in need of the votes of the part of society that sympathizes with Le Pen's ideas.

These circumstances, apparently, explain the latest speeches of Sarkozy, in which one can observe a growth in anti-immigrant rhetoric, criticism of the EU immigration policy, the Schengen Agreement, and calls for protection of French identity.

Either way, the tragic events that occurred in France a month before the presidential election resulted in eight casualties. The future will show how what is happening will affect the history of France. But whatever the outcome is, it is hoped that the March events in Toulouse will not be the subject of regular speculation in the hands of pragmatic technocrats and politicians willing to sacrifice thousands of lives for the good of their own imperial ambitions.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

How could it happen that a person who was under the close surveillance of the French secret service could easily move around the country on a stolen scooter, shooting people in various cities?

How could a man, who, according to the official version, explained his actions by revenge "for Palestinian children and other Muslims", shoot three people of Arab extraction - his brothers in faith?

Couldn't the French police take him alive, neutralizing him with gas or other means at hand?