AT least six prisons in France have been hit by “extremely serious” attacks overnight in a “coordinated” campaign.
Vehicles were set on fire in prison car parks and a prison in the southern city of Toulon was targeted by gunshots from an automatic weapon.
AFPSeveral prisons in France were attacked[/caption]
Burning vehicles are seen in a prison car parkTwitter
AFPFrench cops revealed the overnight attacks on Tuesday morning[/caption]
Prisons in Toulon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, Valence and Nîmes, Luynes, Villepinte and Nanterre were targeted, according to Le Parisien newspaper.
French justice minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X: “Attempts have been made to intimidate staff in several prisons, ranging from burning vehicles to firing automatic weapons.
“I am going to Toulon to support the officers concerned.
“The French Republic is facing up to the problem of drug trafficking and is taking measures that will massively disrupt the criminal networks,” he added.
Toulon prison was targeted by gunmen in a car at around 1am who then fled the scene, Le Parisien reported.
The door was hit seven times and several boxes of ammunition were left on the ground, it wrote.
TwitterBullet holes are seen through the glass of a prison window[/caption]
TwitterBullet holes are seen through a prison door[/caption]
In Marseille, several vehicles were set on fire in a street in the 13th district, according to French broadcaster BFMTV, with “DDPF” found spray painted near.
DDPF stands for ‘droit des prisonniers français’, meaning ‘the rights of French prisoners’.
Accommodation for prison guards in the north of Marseille was also targeted, according to Le Parisien.
At the residence, two cars were reportedly burnt, while nine were spray-painted with DDPF.
It is still unclear whether both outlets are reporting on the same cars.
In Valence, cars in a prison car park, belonging to prison staff, were set on fire by a person on a scooter, according to Le Parisien and BFMTV.
In Nîmes, cars were damaged, with DDPF spray-painted on them, Le Parisien reported.
The prison guard union, FO Justice, expressed its “deepest concern and anger” after the “extremely serious” attacks overnight.
It shared on X images of bullet holes in the Toulon prison windows and burnt vehicles in prison car parks.
The union called for urgent government action to protect prison staff.
Based on current reports, no one is believed to have been injured.
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