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A series of coordinated overnight attacks have struck multiple prisons across France, with vehicles torched, gunfire reported, and prison staff left rattled as authorities link the violence to the government’s intensifying fight against drug trafficking, BBC reported on Tuesday.
According to French officials, seven correctional facilities were targeted in the assaults, including those in Toulon, Aix-En-Provence, Marseille, Valence, Nîmes, Villepinte, and Nanterre. The Parisian newspaper and AFP both reported that one of the most severe incidents took place at the Toulon prison, where automatic gunfire struck the entrance gate.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin condemned the attacks, calling them “intimidation attempts” and suggesting these could be linked to recent government actions aimed at dismantling drug networks. “We are facing up to the problem of drug trafficking,” Darmanin said in a post on X, adding that the measures being taken “will profoundly disrupt” criminal organizations.
He said he was travelling to Toulon to offer support to prison personnel impacted by the violence.
Interior Minister Bruno Retaillea vowed a harsh response, saying on X, “Those who attack prisons and officers deserve to be locked up in those prisons and monitored by those officers”. Retailleau added that police forces had been instructed to immediately reinforce security at prison sites across the country.
The FO Justice prison guard union voiced alarm and fury over the incidents, describing them as “extremely serious.” In a statement, the union expressed its “deepest concern and anger,” sharing photos on social media of charred vehicles and bullet-ridden gates. The union has called for urgent measures to ensure the protection of prison staff.
“It is worrying to note that some people no longer hesitate to directly attack the prison’s property, a symbol of state authority,” the statement read, according to BBC.
According to the report, the latest wave of violence followed a similar incident on Sunday when seven cars were set ablaze at France’s national school for prison administration. While no group has officially claimed responsibility, authorities discovered the initials “DDPF” — believed to represent “French prisoners’ rights”—inscribed on some of the damaged vehicles.
According to La Parisien, anarchist slogans were also reported at several of the targeted sites, raising suspicions of a coordinated effort. AFP cited a source close to the investigation, saying the attacks were “clearly linked” to the government’s aggressive anti-drug trafficking strategy.
The assaults come as French lawmakers are debating a new law that would create a special prosecutor’s office for drug-related crimes, granting prosecutors and investigators expanded authority to pursue and dismantle narcotics networks, the report said.
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