The sun-controlling program is obviously Sati and the "sybaritic French gangster" is obviously the Merovingian, so according to The Kid the Merovingian is an operating system.

• The Merovingian is an old program, in existence from the time of the Matrix betas. To support this consider this quote from the Oracle:

  [The Keymaker is] being held prisoner by a very dangerous program, one of the oldest of us. He is called the Merovingian, and he will not let him go willingly.

  The Oracle calls him a program and considers him a contemporary of hers ("one of the oldest of us"). We know from the Architect that the Oracle has existed since the Matrix betas since she re-designed the Matrix to the current version which allows human choice (albeit at a subconscious level). Therefore the Merovingian has existed since the time of the Matrix betas.

  Additionally, the Merovingian himself tells Neo that

  I have survived your predecessors and I will survive you.

  This indicates that the Merovingian has existed throughout at least several iterations of The One, and possibly all of them (which again means he has existed since the Matrix betas).

• The Merovingian's purpose is to traffic information -- as he put it, it is his "business to know". A program that traffics information between programs is a possible definition of an operating system. Moreover, it could also be said that it is The Oracle's "business to know". The two have the same purpose except that The Oracle is better at it (she also knows the future, at least as determined by choices she can understand).

• The Merovingian is an exile. Recall The Oracle's response when Neo asks her why a program would be deleted:

  Maybe a better program is created to replace it - happens all the time, and when it does, a program can either choose to hide here, or return to The Source.

  Again, the Merovingian and the Oracle have the same purpose except that the Oracle is better at it -- so the Merovingian chose exile when the Oracle replaced him and he was flagged for deletion.

• The Merovingian hates The Oracle (he uses the derogatory "fortune teller" to refer to her and arranged to delete her shell). If The Oracle replaced him then it is obvious why he hates her.

• The Merovingian does not believe in choice (only in causality). For example, he says that

  Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without.

  If The Oracle replaced him because she can see into the future based on choices she understands then it makes sense why The Merovingian would deny the existence of choice -- otherwise he would have to acknowledge that he is obsolete.

• The Merovingian tries to bargain for the "eyes of the Oracle" in Club Hel. If The Oracle replaced him then "eyes of the Oracle" are what made him obsolete. He would no longer be an exile if he took the "eyes of the Oracle" from her.

• The Merovingian and The Oracle share a connection with Seraph. When we first meet Seraph he explains that he protects "that which matters most" -- which is The Oracle. However, Seraph used to work for The Merovingian -- in Club Hel The Merovingian calls him the "prodigal son" and "Judas". If The Oracle replaced The Merovingian then originally The Merovingian was "that which matters most" and protected him. When The Merovingian was exiled so was Seraph. At some point The Oracle must have designated Seraph as her protector, which meant that Seraph was no longer an exile but had betrayed The Merovingian like a "prodigal son" and "Judas".

• The Merovingian controls many powerful exile programs from the Matrix betas. He controls fallen angel (demon) programs from the Paradise Matrix (these are the programs that can defy gravity in Club Hel) and a variety of programs from the Nightmare Matrix (vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc.). These programs were exiled along with The Merovingian once The Oracle took over, which explains why they work for The Merovingian -- they used to work for him before they became exiles.

In summary, everything we know about The Merovingian makes sense if The Merovingian was replaced by The Oracle. Specifically, he could be called an "operating system".

1. He controls many powerful exile programs. Some are powerful because they are so difficult to kill (the Twins can phase out, werewolf programs require silver bullets to kill, etc.). But the most notable and probably the greatest source of his power is The Trainman since The Trainman can control access between the Matrix and the machine world. The Merovingian was nearly able to trap no less than The One in The Trainman's Mobil Avenue.
2. The Merovingian traffics information, and knowledge is power.
3. The Merovingian had captured The Keymaker, which nearly prevented Neo from completing the Path of The One.

Not anymore. If he was The Oracle's predecessor then at one time he was "that which matters most". But now he has been exiled and no longer has a purpose within the system (he has been replaced by The Oracle).

The sun-controlling program is Sati and the "sybaritic French gangster" can only be the Merovingian, so according to The Kid the Merovingian is an operating system.

• The Merovingian is an old program, in existence from the time of the Matrix betas. To support this consider this quote from the Oracle:

  [The Keymaker is] being held prisoner by a very dangerous program, one of the oldest of us. He is called the Merovingian, and he will not let him go willingly.

  The Oracle calls him a program and considers him a contemporary of hers ("one of the oldest of us"). We know from the Architect that the Oracle has existed since the Matrix betas since she re-designed the Matrix to the current version which allows human choice (albeit at a subconscious level). Therefore the Merovingian has existed since the time of the Matrix betas.

  Additionally, the Merovingian himself tells Neo that

  I have survived your predecessors and I will survive you.

  This indicates that the Merovingian has existed throughout at least several iterations of The One, and possibly all of them (which again means he has existed since the Matrix betas).

• The Merovingian's purpose is to traffic information -- as he put it, it is his "business to know". A program that traffics information between programs is a possible definition of an operating system. Moreover, it could also be said that it is the Oracle's "business to know". The two have the same purpose except that The Oracle is better at it (she also knows the future, at least as determined by choices she can understand).

• The Merovingian is an exile. Recall The Oracle's response when Neo asks her why a program would be deleted:

  Maybe a better program is created to replace it - happens all the time, and when it does, a program can either choose to hide here, or return to The Source.

  Again, the Merovingian and the Oracle have the same purpose except that the Oracle is better at it -- so the Merovingian chose exile when the Oracle replaced him and he was flagged for deletion.

• The Merovingian hates The Oracle (he uses the derogatory "fortune teller" to refer to her and arranged to delete her shell). If The Oracle replaced him then it is obvious why he hates her.

• The Merovingian does not believe in choice (only in causality). For example, he says that

  Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without.

  If the Oracle replaced him because she can see into the future based on choices she understands then it makes sense why the Merovingian would deny the existence of choice -- otherwise he would have to acknowledge that he is obsolete.

• The Merovingian tries to bargain for the "eyes of the Oracle" in Club Hel. If the Oracle replaced him then "eyes of the Oracle" are what made him obsolete. He would no longer be an exile if he took the "eyes of the Oracle" from her.

• The Merovingian and the Oracle share a connection with Seraph. When we first meet Seraph he explains that he protects "that which matters most" -- which is the Oracle. However, Seraph used to work for the Merovingian -- in Club Hel the Merovingian calls him the "prodigal son" and "Judas". If the Oracle replaced the Merovingian then originally the Merovingian was "that which matters most" and protected him. When the Merovingian was exiled so was Seraph. At some point The Oracle must have designated Seraph as her protector, which meant that Seraph was no longer an exile but had betrayed the Merovingian like a "prodigal son" and "Judas".

• The Merovingian controls many powerful exile programs from the Matrix betas. He controls fallen angel (demon) programs from the Paradise Matrix (these are the programs that can defy gravity in Club Hel) and a variety of programs from the Nightmare Matrix (vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc.). These programs were exiled along with the Merovingian once the Oracle took over, which explains why they work for the Merovingian -- they used to work for him before they became exiles.

In summary, everything we know about the Merovingian makes sense if the Merovingian was replaced by the Oracle. Specifically, he could be called an "operating system".

1. He controls many powerful exile programs. Some are powerful because they are so difficult to kill (the Twins can phase out, werewolf programs require silver bullets to kill, etc.). But the most notable and probably the greatest source of his power is the Trainman since the Trainman can control access between the Matrix and the machine world. The Merovingian was nearly able to trap no less than The One in the Trainman's Mobil Avenue.
2. The Merovingian traffics information, and knowledge is power.
3. The Merovingian had captured the Keymaker, which nearly prevented Neo from completing the Path of The One.

Not anymore. If he was the Oracle's predecessor then at one time he was "that which matters most". But now he has been exiled and no longer has a purpose within the system (he has been replaced by the Oracle).