A string of overnight assaults on multiple French prisons has rattled the country’s justice system, with officials pointing to possible ties to organized crime as lawmakers prepare to push through tough new anti-drug legislation.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that at least seven prisons across France were targeted between April 15 and the early hours of April 16, describing the attacks as an apparent campaign to intimidate prison personnel. The assaults ranged from arson in prison parking lots to a brazen shooting with automatic weapons.
Among the hardest-hit locations were facilities in Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Valence, Nîmes, Luynes, Villepinte, and Nanterre. In Toulon, gunmen reportedly opened fire on the prison using what authorities believe to be a Kalashnikov-style rifle. Union officials say investigators found up to 15 bullet holes riddling the entrance.
“These violent acts are likely linked to drug trafficking networks that feel threatened,” Darmanin wrote on X (formerly Twitter), while vowing swift justice. “The Republic is standing firm. We are dismantling these criminal ecosystems piece by piece.”
The timing of the attacks raises eyebrows, coming just as lawmakers are poised to pass sweeping legislation aimed at combatting narco-violence. The proposed law would expand police authority and establish a special prosecutors’ office dedicated to organized crime.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau also took to social media, announcing an “immediate reinforcement” of security around penal institutions. “Those who attack our prisons and the officers within them should be the first to feel the full weight of the justice system,” he stated.
Some of the sites defaced during the attacks bore graffiti reading “DDPF,” an acronym for Droit des Prisonniers Français (Rights of French Prisoners), hinting at possible ideological motives layered onto the criminal ones.
The FO Justice union condemned the assaults as “a direct assault on our institutions, the Republic, and the men and women who uphold the rule of law each day.” In Aix-en-Provence, union representatives reported two staff vehicles had been torched.
The wave of violence underscores the rising tension between French authorities and increasingly brazen criminal networks. France formally launched its so-called “war on drugs” in late 2024, a campaign that’s only intensified confrontations between the state and the underworld.
