In a troubling escalation of violence, multiple French prisons were the targets of overnight assaults involving vehicles set ablaze and gunfire from automatic weapons. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin condemned the attacks as "intimidation attempts" and drew a direct connection to the government’s ongoing battle against drug trafficking.
According to reports from the Parisien newspaper, seven prison facilities were struck, including those in Toulon, Aix-En-Provence, Marseille, Valence, Nîmes in southern France, and Villepinte and Nanterre near Paris. The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation into these incidents.
Darmanin, who has since visited the affected officers at the Toulon prison, remarked in a post on X that such violent actions underscore a serious challenge that France faces regarding drug-related crime. While he refrained from explicitly blaming any groups for the attacks, he committed the government to making decisive moves that could "profoundly disrupt" the connected criminal networks.
The Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, echoed these sentiments, advocating for a relentless response to ensure the safety of prison officials, asserting, “Those who attack prisons and officers deserve to be locked up.” He has ordered immediate measures to bolster security across all prison facilities.
The FO Justice, the prison guard union, expressed "deepest concern and anger" about the noted attacks, describing them as "extremely serious.” They circulated updates and images of the aftermath on X, revealing burnt vehicles littering the prison grounds and bullet holes punctuating the entrance to Toulon prison.
Earlier, on Sunday, a prelude to these assaults reportedly involved the burning of seven vehicles at France’s national school of prison administration. The union condemned these actions as alarming, warning that the direct attacks on prison properties signify a blatant assault on state authority.
Despite no formal claims of responsibility, the letters "DDPF," which stands for "French prisoners' rights," were inscribed on some damaged vehicles. Anarchist slogans also appeared at various sites, leading sources close to the investigation to suggest that the attacks seemed coordinated and were clearly linked to the government’s rigorous drug policy reforms.
A new law is currently making its way through the French parliament, aimed at establishing a specialized prosecutor’s office to combat drug-related crimes with expanded investigative powers.
