4 days ago
Trial of 2019 jihadist attack in French prison begins
The trial for the March 5, 2019, attack against two prison guards in Normandy, France, was to begin on Monday, June 2, at the Special Criminal Court in Paris. The attack was part of a series of incidents that have become a subcategory within jihadist violence: terrorist attacks committed in French prisons by radicalized inmates.
Three other such attacks in French prisons have been recorded to date: the knife assault by Bilal Taghi on two guards at the Osny prison, in the Paris region, on September 4, 2016; the attack on four prison officers by German jihadist Christian Ganczarski on January 11, 2018, at Vendin-le-Vieil, in northern France; and the murder of the convicted Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna at Arles prison in Bouches-du-Rhône on March 2, 2022, by the inmate Franck Elong Abé, who had been flagged as a security threat.
The brutal knife attack that wounded two guards at the prison in Condé-sur-Sarthe, Normandy, stands out for a unique reason: It is the only jihadist attack in France ever carried out by a couple. The instigator, Michaël Chiolo, was a notoriously violent criminal who converted to radical Islam. He will stand trial for five weeks alongside four other inmates accused of knowing about, or even encouraging, his plan. His partner, Hanane Aboulhana, was killed during the police response.
