A moment of silence in the city of Toulouse.
Residents gather outside the town hall to show their respects for seven victims shot dead by a gunman.
Mohamed Merah's shooting spree ended Wednesday - in a hail of police gunfire - after a 30-hour siege at his apartment.
Merah's neighbour Pascaline Mariaye was shocked at the news.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) NEIGHBOUR, PASCALINE MARIAYE, SAYING:
"Like many people, I would have preferred if he had been made to justify his acts and be punished like any other murderer. It was destiny that it wasn't going to be that way, so there you go."
Merah had said he was inspired by Al-Qaeda to carry out the killings that left three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi dead.
The shootings were the biggest security threat France had seen in more than a decade.
But Prime Minister Francois Fillon said countering such threats wasn't a simple task.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRIME MINISTER, FRANCOIS FILLON, SAYING:
"Belonging to a Salafist group isn't a crime in itself, we shouldn't mix up religious fundamentalism and terrorism, even if we well know the links which unite them. No there was no element indicating we should arrest Mohamed Merah."
New security measures will be proposed before the upcoming April elections.
Sarah Wali, Reuters.
