Multiple French Prisons Attacked Overnight, Says Justice Minister

Vehicles were burned and automatic weapons fired at multiple sites overnight in a coordinated attack, with several cars graffitied.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin (R) speaks to the press in Paris on Oct. 9, 2023. Bertrand Guay/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin has said that attacks have been carried out overnight on multiple prisons in the country.

“Attempts have been made to intimidate staff in several prisons, ranging from burning vehicles to firing automatic weapons,” Darmanin said on April 15 on social media platform X.

He did not say how many prisons were affected.

“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 said.

La Province reported that graffiti and arson appeared to be the work of a movement targeting prison staff at one site at least. They claimed that seven sites across France have been affected by what could be coordinated attacks.

The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify this claim.

The publication also reported that cars belonging to staff living in social housing linked to Marseille’s prison administration were graffitied with the letters “DDPF”—an acronym that appears to be the signature of a group advocating for “droits des prisonniers français” (rights of French prisoners).

It said that the attacks, to date, have occurred in Marseille, Agen, Luynes, Nîmes, Valence, Nanterre, and Villepinte.

The French prison union Syndicat Force Ouvrière Justice said in a statement on Tuesday that the armed attack in Toulon could have had “tragic consequences.”

“No staff have been physically injured, but this traumatic event has left deep psychological scars,” it said.

Darmanin said that France was “facing up to the problem” of drug trafficking.

Last year, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned that the emergence of “narco-enclaves” posed a serious threat to the country.

A deadly shootout on Nov. 1 in the once-peaceful French town of Poitiers, historically known for its medieval churches, resulted in the death of a 15-year-old boy, shot in the head, and left the nation shocked.

The gunfight, which involved hundreds of people, was the latest in a wave of drug-related crimes that has transformed cities such as Poitiers, Rennes, and Marseille into battlegrounds, where even children are caught in the crossfire—shot, stabbed, and burned alive.

In Poitiers, Retailleau raised alarms about the rise of these “narco-enclaves,” comparing the situation to the growing control drug cartels have in Mexico.

Retailleau said that the country faces two choices: “Either there is a general mobilization, or there is the Mexicanization of the country,” or risk the formation of gang-controlled “enclaves, mini-states, narco-enclaves” on French territory.

The warning follows a similar incident in Rennes, where a recent shooting seriously injured a 5-year-old boy, who was shot while in his father’s car.

“These shootings are not happening in South America, they are happening in Rennes, in Poitiers, in this part of western France once known for its tranquillity,” Retailleau told broadcaster BFMTV on Nov. 1.