Multiple French prisons were attacked overnight with cars burned and shots fired at one doorway, the government and prison authorities said, with a union saying the assaults could have had "grave consequences," Reuters reports.
Unknown assailants fired automatic weapons at the prison in the southern city of Toulon, while vehicles were burned outside other lockups across the country, including in Aix-en-Provence and Villepinte, according to the UFAP union.
"We witnessed a coordinated attack of several prison sites, ... notably in Toulon, where the main entrance gate of the facility was shot at, which could have had very grave consequences if there had been staff behind that gate,” said Wilfried Fonck, a UFAP union representative said.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who has led efforts to toughen prison security and crack down on gangsters who run their empires from behind bars, said he would travel to Toulon.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said it had taken charge of the probe into the attacks, which also targeted the National School of Prison Administration. The PNAT said officers from France's domestic intelligence agency DGSI would assist in the investigation.
