- 19 people are arrested in police raids, President Nicolas Sarkozy tells French radio
- The operation targets those connected with "a form of radical Islam," he says
- Firearms including Kalashnikov rifles have been found at some properties, he says
- Gunman Mohammed Merah killed 7 people in a series of attacks in and near Toulouse
Paris (CNN) -- Nineteen people have been arrested in a series of police raids on suspected Islamist networks, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told French radio Friday morning.
The raids come a week after gunman Mohammed Merah, who killed seven people, was shot dead after a 31-hour siege in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
Sarkozy told Europe 1 the decision to act had been taken by the interior minister and foreign minister "to deny the entry of certain people to France" who did not share the country's values.
"It's not just linked to Toulouse, it's all over the country, it's in connection with a form of radical Islam and it's in agreement with the law," he said.
French gunman buried in Toulouse 
French politics and Toulouse suspect "What you have to understand is that the traumatic events in Montauban and Toulouse were profound in our country. I don't want to compare horrors but it's a bit like the form of trauma visible in the United States and New York after 9/11. We have to be able to draw some conclusions."
Sarkozy said a number of weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles, had been found at properties searched.
"There will be other operations that will continue and that will allow us to expel from our national territory a certain number of people who have no reason to be here," he said.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.
