In France, new incidents have been reported that appear to continue a recent wave of attacks on prisons — specifically, several vehicles were set on fire in a prison facility’s parking lot.
The incident occurred on the morning of April 16 in the parking lot of a penitentiary facility in the town of Tarascon, located in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Around 5:20 AM, three vehicles caught fire. The parking area, intended for prison staff, is protected by fencing and a digital access code.
Additionally, in a town in the Seine-et-Marne department, a fire broke out in the common hallway of a building where a local prison guard lives. The acronym “DDPF” was found on the walls — possibly referring to the group “Defense of French Prisoners” (Défense des Détenus de la Population Française), which has claimed responsibility for previous incidents.
Another report noted a car belonging to a prison employee was torched in a town in Bouches-du-Rhône, with the vehicle parked in front of the employee’s home.
These attacks followed a wave of similar incidents reported on April 15, involving arson or vandalism targeting prison facilities or employees’ vehicles in several cities.
France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the activities of a “terrorist criminal group” and “attempted murder related to terrorist activity.”
Sources close to the investigation, cited by journalists, believe the attacks are coordinated and may represent a backlash from the criminal underworld in response to the construction of high-security prisons and the Interior Ministry’s efforts to intensify the fight against drug trafficking.
