Multiple prisons in France have been attacked, the country’s justice minister has said – with reports of gunfire and arson.
France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s department is investigating the attacks alongside the national security agency, while local media reports claim the attacks were co-ordinated.
Vehicles were set alight in prison car parks, according to Le Parisien, while a prison in the southern city of Toulon was fired at with an automatic weapon.
“Attempts have been made to intimidate staff in several prisons, ranging from burning vehicles to firing automatic weapons,” Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed on social media platform X.
The wave of attacks comes as lawmakers are poised to approve a sweeping new anti-drug trafficking law that would increase the powers of police investigating narcos and create a new prosecutors’ office for organised crime.
Record cocaine imports from South America to Europe have increased drug violence in France, where cocaine seizures are at an all-time high.
Drug groups have expanded from traditional power bases like Marseille into smaller regional towns.
“These targeted, cowardly, and heinous attacks aim to terrorise those who embody the authority of the State and ensure the safety of all on a daily basis, even at the cost of their own peace of mind,” prison staff union UFAP said.
Prisons were also hit in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, Valence and Nîmes, Luynes, Villepinte, and Nanterre, according to local reports.
Prison unions have said burnt vehicles have been found outside prisons for several days, BFMTV reported.
Mr Darmanin said that he would travel to the southern city of Toulon to support officers impacted by the attacks.
He has been leading efforts to crackdown on prison security and people operating from behind bars.
Here’s what we know so far:
According to newspaper Le Parisien, the entrance to Toulon prison was targeted by gunmen in a car at around 1am. The gunmen fled the scene.
