PRISONS BLITZ
AT least seven prisons in France have been hit by "extremely serious" attacks 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.
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Prisons in Toulon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, Valence and Nîmes, Luynes, Villepinte and Nanterre were hit on Monday night, .
A prison in Agen was also targeted the night before, .
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 entrance door was hit seven times and several boxes of ammunition were left on the ground, the newspaper revealed.
In the southern city of Marseille, several vehicles were set on fire in a street in the 13th district, with "DDPF” found spray painted near, according to BFMTV.
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"DDPF" stands for "Droits 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 Nanterre, a Paris suburb, two people were seen setting fire to a car in a prison park, which belonged to prison staff, on Monday evening, the French newspaper reported.
A petrol can was reportedly found at the scene.
In Villepinte, another Parisian suburb, at around 10.30pm, two men were seen setting fire to three vehicles in the prison car park.
Le Parisien reported that the cars belonged to prison staff and a petrol can was found at the scene.
The other reported prison attacks took place in southern France.
In Valence, cars in a prison car park, belonging to prison staff, were set on fire, according to Le Parisien, with BFMTV reporting that the culprit was a person on a scooter.
In the southern city of Nîmes, cars were damaged and "DDPF" was spray-painted on them, Le Parisien reported.
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The newspaper also claimed that cars in Luynes, a village in southern France, were also damaged and vandalised in this way.
Cars in the village's prison car park were also set alight, according to BFMTV.
In Agen, a city in southwestern France, seven vehicles were set on fire in the prison car park at 11pm on Sunday night, BFMTV reported.
No further details have yet been given on the attacks.
Le Parisien reported that while it's still unclear who carried out these attacks, there are two main suspicions.
It wrote the culprits may have been "drug traffickers annoyed by the plans of the Minister of Justice, who wants to isolate the most dangerous drug traffickers in a dedicated facility or create a prison police force."
Alternatively, it said the culprits may have been "ultra-left groups, as suggested by the 'DDPF' inscriptions found at some of the attacked sites."
A source told the newspaper: “All this seems coordinated and clearly linked to the Minister's strategy against drug trafficking."
The prison guard union, FO Justice, expressed its "deepest concern and anger" after the "extremely serious" attacks overnight.
It 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.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau posted on X: "The State's response must be implacable.
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"Those who attack prisons and prison officers should be locked up in these prisons and watched over by these officers."
Based on current reports, no one is believed to have been injured.
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