Wave of ‘coordinated attacks’ targets French prisons

Authorities reported that vehicles were burned outside prisons across France, including near Paris [File: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA]

France’s antiterrorism office has launched an investigation after unknown assailants carried out a wave of attacks on prisons across the country.

Multiple incidents were recorded overnight and into Tuesday, with prisons targeted with automatic gunfire and arson attacks against cars. The perpetrators of the attacks have not been identified, but government officials noted that they follow an intensified crackdown on drug gang crimes, including record seizures of cocaine smuggled from South America.