Early morning in Nantes, French police commandos raid one of several houses in France - in total, 19 people are arrested, suspected of radical Islamist activity.<br/> <br />Police also seized weapons including Kalashnikov assault rifles.<br/> <br />President Nicholas Sarkozy said more raids would follow to guarantee the safety of the French people.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, NICOLAS SARKOZY, SAYING:<br/> <br />"It is our duty to guarantee the security of the French people, we don't have any choice, it's absolutely necessary and it's the first duty of a head of state to protect the French people."<br/> <br />The raids come just over a week after al Qaeda-inspired gunman Mohamed Merah was killed by police snipers after shooting dead 3 Jewish school children, a Rabbi and three French soldiers.<br/> <br />Sarkozy is fighting for re-election in this month's presidential election. Polls show his ratings have gone up with more than 70 percent of voters saying they approve his handling of the Merah affair.<br/> <br />His chief rival, Socialist frontrunner Francois Hollande, is losing support to Sarkozy and the candidate for the Left Front Jean Luc Melenchon.<br/> <br />Police sources said that Friday's swoops by the the RAID police commando unit and anti-terrorist specialists were not directly related to the investigation into Merah's killing spree.<br/> <br />Sarah Wali, Reuters.
