On the night between April 15 and 16, new attacks targeted French prisons and staff, including vehicles and buildings set on fire. France’s justice minister Gérald Darmanin says attempts are underway to destabilize the state through intimidation.

Tarascon

French prisons are facing a series of coordinated attacks with vehicles and buildings being set on fire across multiple facilities. Most recently, incidents were reported in the southern city of Tarascon and nine other locations. These events come amid growing frustrations regarding prison conditions. The attacks are being investigated by France’s anti-terrorist prosecutor's office due to the seriousness of the situation. Inscribed slogans observed at the crime scenes have been linked to a group advocating for prisoners' rights, labeling themselves as non-terrorists concerned with human rights within prisons.

The group called "Defending the Rights of French Prisoners" emerged recently on Telegram and criticized body searches and overcrowding in their posts. These issues have echoed concerns expressed by prison officer unions, highlighting the capacity issues facing the French prison system. France's Ministry of Justice reported a record number of inmates, with current figures showing a deficit of 20,000 spaces for the existing 82,000 incarcerated individuals. Additionally, there is a significant staff shortage, with thousands of positions unfilled.

France's justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, emphasizes the gravity of these attacks as attempts to destabilize the state. He urges a calm but firm response to these actions, alongside the implementation of a new prison regime under the current drug trafficking law. These developments point to significant tension and serve as a reminder of the longstanding challenges within the French penal system. The Council of Europe currently ranks France poorly against other European nations concerning prison overcrowding, and the situation remains critical.



French prisons hit by wave of attacks

Torched cars outside yet another prison, this time in the southern city of Tarascon. Nine facilities have now been targeted since Sunday night, including this one in Toulon, where assailants fired at the prison doors. The anti-terrorist prosecutor's office is taking charge of the investigation. It's a serious intimidation. They're clearly trying to see if the state will back down. I think we need to take a very firm, calm and determined approach. With this new drug trafficking law, we are putting in place an unprecedented prison regime. One thing the attacks have in common, an inscription left at the scene that reads DDPF, which in French stands for Defending the Rights of French Prisoners. A group with that very same name was created on Telegram just a few days ago. It posted overnight that its members were not terrorists, but here to defend human rights inside prisons. They denounce what they call humiliating body searches, as well as overcrowding, an issue also raised by prison officer unions. So the situation is tense because we currently have 82,000 inmates, 62,000 spots, so a deficit of 20,000. We also have a decline in staff numbers. We're currently short of 3,000 staff in French prisons. The staff is both in shock and tired and one day or another things are going to snap, either inside the facilities or outside its doors. Figures released by the Justice Ministry last month show French prisons have never seen such a high number of inmates. The Council of Europe, meanwhile, ranks France as the third worst European country when it comes to prison overcrowding.

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