U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday called French President Nicolas Sarkozy and expressed his support to France, following the serial killings by a French gunman that left seven dead, White House said in a statement.

While aboard Air Force One en route to Nevada, Obama called Sarkozy to express his "solidarity" with the French people, as they deal with the aftermath of the "tragic and unprovoked attacks, " said the White House.

The suspect by the name of Mohammed Merah, a French national of Algerian origin, had killed three French paratroops last week in two separate incidents and later on shot dead another four including three pupils in a Jewish school in the southern city of Toulouse on Monday.

In an ongoing standoff, the gunman has been besieged by police in his residence in Toulouse since early Wednesday morning. Police has been demanding his surrender.

Obama "welcomed the actions taken by French authorities in identifying and locating a suspect in the killings, and their continued efforts to prevent further acts of violence," said the White House.

The American president also underscored that his people "stand shoulder to shoulder" with France "in this trying time," the White House said.

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