Cars have been set on fire near several prisons in France while one was targeted with automatic gunfire, in possible retaliation against government anti-drug policies, justice ministry officials said on Tuesday.
On Monday, three vehicles, including two belonging to prison staff, were set on fire in the car park of the Villepinte prison north of Paris, police said. A fuel canister was found on site, and CCTV footage showed two individuals torching cars.
Cars parked outside three other prisons, one near Paris and two in southern France, were also set on fire.
In a prison in Toulon, on France's southern coast, 15 bullet impacts were found on the front gate following an attack with a "Kalashnikov-type" assault weapon, union FO Justice said.
According to prison staff union FO Justice, "vehicles were torched, prison gates set on fire, and even targeted with heavy guns."
In a prison in nearby Aix, two vehicles were set on fire and the gate of the local ERIS prison surveillance unit was damaged, the union added.
Overnight Sunday to Monday, fires had already been set in the parking lots of a prison staff training centre and a prison near Paris.
Drug crackdown?
"All this appeared to have been coordinated and is clearly linked to the anti-drug gang strategy" introduced by Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, a source told French news agency AFP after the incidents recorded overnight to Tuesday.
In recent months Darmanin and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau have vowed to intensify the fight against narcotics and drug-related crime.
New prison to isolate 100 of France's most dangerous drug lords
"The republic is face to face with drug trafficking, and is taking measures that will seriously disrupt criminal networks," Darmanin himself said on X, promising a "firm and courageous" government response.
"These criminal acts are a full-on attack on our institution, on the republic and the staff who serve the republic every day," FO Justice said, calling for a "strong, clear response by the government".
Wilfried Fonck, national secretary for Ufap Unsa Justice, another union, said that the prison system did not have enough staff to secure prison perimetres "24/7".
Anarchist slogans were also found at some of the attack sites, and police are keeping all lines of investigation open, a source close to the case said.
(with AFP)
