France shooting: Girlfriend of murdered soldier to proceed with posthumous wedding THE pregnant girlfriend of a French soldier killed in a dramatic gun rampage will marry her partner in a posthumous ceremony, according to her family lawyer. Lawyer Gilbert Collard said that 21-year-old Caroline Monet will marry Abel Chennouf, who was shot dead at a cash machine in the town of Montauban near Toulouse earlier this month. The 25-year-old soldier was one of seven people gunned down by Mohammad Merah, a French citizen who claimed to be acting as an al-Qaeda foot soldier. Investigators have so far found no signs that he was in fact under orders from al-Qaeda or any other militant group. Collard said Monet has received preliminary approval from the president's office for the ceremony. Such ceremonies are unusual but not unheard of in France, where the law allows posthumous marriages in cases where a fiancé dies before the wedding. The law states that such wedding ceremonies can only be approved by the French president "in grave circumstances." "I've already had it done twice, for policemen's girlfriends," Collard said. It's a really moving ceremony with an empty chair representing the dead spouse. Collard said that the official request was sent yesterday, but he had already received approval from the French president's office. "There won't be any problems," Collard said, adding that he hopes the ceremony will "let the child have a father." Meanwhile, the mother of the gunman has been released without charge. Zoulika Aziri was released from prison late on Friday. Aziri's son Merah was behind a series of fatal shootings which have shocked France and galvanised the country's presidential race. Merah, who claimed allegiance to al-Qaeda, died in a hail of gunfire on Thursday after a dramatic 32-hour stand-off with law enforcement officers. Police are investigating whether Merah acted alone, and his older brother Abdelkader Merah - who has said he supported his brother's actions and was proud of him - along with Abdelkader's girlfriend, remain in police custody in Paris. Police union spokesman Michel Crepin said that detectives have already gathered evidence to suggest that Abdelkader may have helped his brother carry out the shootings. Crepin said there was evidence to suggest that Abdelkader Merah had "furnished means and worked as an accomplice." Crepin refused to comment further, saying it was for a judge to decide what charges, if any, to bring. Under French law, if either of the two continue to be held beyond the weekend, preliminary charges will have to be filed. Abdelkader had already come to the attention of police, according to officials. He was questioned several years ago about alleged links to a network sending youths from the Toulouse area of France to Iraq, but no action was brought against him at the time.