France on highest terror alert in shooting region

Some of the bullets at the Monday's shooting site are of the same calibre as those found at the scenes of last week's shootings of soldiers.

In a press statement released by the Elysee, the French president confirmed that it was the same person with the same weapon "killed soldiers, children and the teacher" respectively in the school shooting this morning, and in the assassinations of three soldiers last week in Toulouse and Montauban.

Sarkozy, who is running for a second term, announced to suspend his election campaign at least until Wednesday.

Other main contenders including Socialist frontrunner in the presidential race, Francois Hollande, also said to cancel his campaign events after heading to the scene in the afternoon in Toulous.

Earlier in the day, Sarkozy rushed to the school, the scene of killing, in the southwestern French city and announced a minute of silence in all schools throughout the country on Tuesday to mourn the deceased. He called the shooting a "national tragedy" and vowed to do everything to find the gunman.

Police in southwestern France have already launched a major manhunt last week after the killing of three paratroopers and the wounding of another in two separate but connected incidents. The attacker in both cases fed on a scooter.