Prisons in France have been hit by coordinated gun and arson attacks in an apparent response to a government crackdown on drug trafficking. About 10 prisons, from Paris to Marseille in the south, were targeted overnight on Monday and Tuesday.
Arsonists set fires to parked cars, many belonging to prison staff, outside jails in Villepinte, Nanterre, Aix-Luynes and Valence. The entrance to one prison in Toulon was sprayed with more than a dozen bullets from an automatic weapon at 1am on Tuesday.
No injuries were reported in any of the attacks. Overcrowding has become a major problem in French prisons. There are 82, prisoners for 62, spaces, forcing some to sleep on mattresses on the floor.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but Le Parisien newspaper reported that vandalised cars were found tagged with the letters DDPF, which stands for Defending the Rights of French Prisoners. The messages exchanged are ominous.
The situation is grave: we are entering a dangerous and worrying era for the future of the prison population. Posts also accuse prison staff of physical and sexual abuse. The rise in gang crime has lifted support for the far-Right National Rally party and helped drag French politics towards the Right. Mr Darmanin and Mr Retailleau have prioritised tackling drug trafficking. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism.
