France has been hit by a wave of coordinated attacks on prisons across the country, which authorities have described as “terrorist acts.” The attacks came after the government’s crackdown on drug trafficking and appear to be a violent response by criminal groups.
On Monday evening, vehicles were set on fire and a prison in Toulon was attacked with gunfire, including a Kalashnikov. In total, seven prisons were targeted in Toulon, Aix-En-Provence, Marseille, Valence and Nîmes in southern France and in Villepinte and Nanterre, near Paris.
On Tuesday, French Justice Minister Darmanin visited Toulon's La Farlede prison, where gunmen opened fire on the prison gate with a Kalashnikov, while France's anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has launched an investigation.
"I am pleased that the national counter-terrorism prosecutor's office has taken action because this is extremely serious. These are terrorist attacks. Significant means are being used to find the perpetrators and they will receive extremely severe sentences," he told reporters.
According to him, "acts of intimidation against prison employees" were linked to the government's efforts to combat drug crime.
"It could also be because we have hit them where it hurts and for the first time in decades, France is taking extremely serious measures against drug trafficking," he stressed.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility, but graffiti with the initials DDPF – “French Prisoners’ Rights” – as well as slogans with anarchist content have been found at some of the attack sites.
Earlier on Tuesday, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the government's response must be ruthless. "Those who attack prisons and officers deserve to be locked up in those prisons and monitored by those officers," he posted on X.
He added that he had instructed the police to immediately strengthen security on the prison premises.
Prison guards' unions have raised the alarm about the lack of security and have called for immediate intervention to protect staff. In some cases, prison employees' personal vehicles have also been burned and a threat has been reported at the home of an officer in Nancy.
Darmanin and Retailleau have pledged to tackle the scourge of drug trafficking and violence in France amid a rise in gang-related crime.
In February, the interior ministry announced a record number of cocaine seizures in the first 11 months of 2024 - 53.5 tonnes, a 130% increase from the 23.2 tonnes seized in 2023. Retailleau said France had been hit by a "white tsunami".
Darmanin has proposed a series of measures to strengthen prison security, including the creation of dedicated high-security prisons to isolate drug lords who run their empires from behind bars.
A law is passing through the French parliament which creates a special prosecutor's office to deal with drug crime, with new powers for investigators. (A2 Televizion)
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