Mohammed Merah chose to die like a jihadi on Thursday, because he was a jihadi of the purest and most dangerous variety. The French discovered in Toulouse this week that Salafis dont reside only in Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, but they also live in their own secular republic, of which they are so proud. And not just any Salafis - who wouldnt necessarily cross the line and engage in holy war jihadi Salafis, who, by definition, aim to change the face of the society in which they live, even if it is a Western society, by any possible means, preferably by means of violence. Less than five weeks ahead of the French presidential elections, the issues of immigration, Islamist terror and the absence of a sense of security have once again become central issues. With his death, Merah shaped Frances agenda around the topics in which the Right specializes, while the Left fumbles with them. Though he probably would have preferred that it hadnt happened, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has perhaps gained the most political benefit from this incident. The French are currently wondering how such a thing could have happened while their Mr. Security is occupying the Elysee Palace. The French are also wondering why the authorities failed to arrest such a dangerous man, who even visited Pakistan and Afghanistan, and why they released him after questioning him in connection to the March 15 murders of French paratroopers in Montauban. And another thing the French cant understand: why dozens of elite commandos were not able to capture Merah alive, as the president had requested, and why it was necessary to make fools of themselves for 32 hours just to achieve the result that was ultimately achieved. And still, Sarkozy is up in the polls. For the first time in a long time he is in the lead over his chief rival, socialist Francois Hollande (28% to 26%), though in the second round Hollande still commands a considerable lead (54% to 46%). In the meantime, the big star is Marine Le Pen, leader of the extreme Right. Le Pen dreams of her fathers big achievement: he advanced to the second round in 2002 and shamed all of France. Marine spoke on Thursday about a war against fundamentalists living in France. If the extreme Right had been responsible for this attack, however, Le Pen would have had to go underground. Data collected by Frances Interior Ministry indicates that some 12,000 to 15,000 Salafis currently reside in the country. All are of North African descent, between the ages of 20-35, mostly living in Marseilles or in the suburbs of Lyons. Their presence is worrisome to the French and embarrassing to the Muslim community. The cab driver who took me to the airport in Toulouse on Thursday was a young man from North Africa. He made a point of telling me, the Israeli journalist, that he was ashamed of Merahs actions. The vast majority of us arent extremists, he said. But it only takes one like Merah to put an entire nation in a panic, and possibly even affect election results.
