PARIS — French officials on Tuesday said several prisons have been targeted in incidents including gunfire and arson in what they described as a response to renewed government efforts to fight drug trafficking.
In the most recent incident, an automatic weapon was fired overnight at the prison in the southern port city of Toulon. No one was injured. In other places, cars have been set on fire outside prisons.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X that “attempts have been made to intimidate staff in several prisons.” He added that measures against drug trafficking “will massively disrupt the criminal networks.”
French anti-terror prosecutors said they will lead the probe into the incidents, without providing details on possible motives. They said domestic intelligence agency DGSI would be involved.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on X he has instructed authorities and police to step up security measures to protect prison staff and facilities.
Prison staff union UFAP-UNSA Justice said some staff vehicles have been set on fire outside prisons in Villepinte and Nanterre, in the Paris region, and the southern towns of Aix-en-Provence and Valence. It said an attempted arson attack at a prison-related facility in Marseille was also reported.
Wilfried Fonck, the union’s national secretary, said on BFM television that “we see it’s something that is coordinated, organized and that seeks to terrorize prisons’ staff.”
French authorities in recent months decided to step up efforts against drug trafficking, with a focus on cocaine, which the interior minister has described as a “tsunami” flooding the country.
Demand for cocaine has reached an all-time high, with 1.1 million people in France using it at least once in 2023, Retailleau said.
In all, 47 tons of cocaine were seized in 2024, more than double the previous year’s total.
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