FRENCH police have arrested two people in connection with the attacks by extremist gunman Mohamed Merah, whose shooting spree in and around the southern city of Toulouse left seven people dead.
A man described by police as a 38-year-old member of the traveller community who converted to Islam was detained on suspicion of having provided aid to Merah in carrying out the March attacks that shocked France.
He was arrested without incident at his home in the town of Albi, about 70 kilometres from Toulouse, where he was to be taken for questioning, police sources said.
His ex-girlfriend, also 38, was arrested separately at her home in Toulouse, in the same neighbourhood where Merah lived.
She was questioned shortly after her arrest. Police said she may have been aware of her ex-boyfriend's alleged involvement with Merah and failed to inform authorities.
The nature of his alleged involvement was unclear, but investigators have been searching for a suspected "third man" believed to have been with Merah and his brother Abdelkader during the theft of a scooter used in the attacks.
The detained man was known to police, a source said.
Merah shot a rabbi, three Jewish schoolchildren and three French paratroopers in March before being shot dead in a police siege in Toulouse.
Abdelkader was arrested after the attacks and remains in custody.
Sources close to the investigation warned against concluding that the suspect arrested on Tuesday was the "third man". He can be held for questioning for up to 96 hours without charge.
Merah's elder brother Abdelghani previously told French media that someone from the traveller community may have been involved in stealing the scooter.
Investigators are also probing whether any possible accomplices may have provided funds or weapons used by Merah.
A petty criminal who was lured into Islamic extremist circles in Toulouse, Merah visited Afghanistan and Pakistan before his attacks.
Since his shooting spree, it has become clear that Merah had been on the radar of France's security services for years and that authorities under-estimated the extent of his radicalisation following his trips abroad.
French intelligence services have been heavily criticised for failing to realise the threat posed by Merah.
His attacks prompted a rethink of French security policies, with legislation being considered that will allow authorities to prosecute citizens who attend militant Islamist training camps abroad and to boost monitoring of extremist sites on the internet.
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