Prior to the identification of Merah as the attacker, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the anti-semitic nature of the Jewish school attack appeared obvious. After Merah was identified, Sarkozy stated that "the Islamic faith has nothing to do with the insane motivations of this man,"Mohammed Merah Toulouse Killings 'Had Nothing To Do With Islam' Sarkozy Says, The Huffington Post UK. Accessed: 1 June 2012. and others have repeated this view. Merah admitted anti-Semitic motivations for his attack during the siege with police.
