Latest news with #NationalAnti-TerrorismProsecutor'sOffice
France 24
02-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
French prison attacks linked to drug traffickers, say prosecutors
Attackers in April struck at several jails and other facilities across France, torching cars, spraying the entrance of one prison with automatic gunfire and leaving mysterious inscriptions. A total of 30 people, including four minors, were arrested this week in police raids across France. Seven of them were released without charge. The assaults have embarrassed the right-leaning government whose tough-talking ministers of justice, Gerald Darmanin, and interior, Bruno Retailleau, have vowed to intensify the fight against narcotics and drug-related crime. President Emmanuel Macron has promised the attackers would be "found, tried and punished." French anti-terror prosecutors were initially put in charge of the case due to the coordinated nature of the attacks but the office for the fight against organised crime, known by its acronym JUNALCO, has now taken over. "It does not appear that these coordinated actions were part of a terrorist enterprise whose purpose was to commit offences with the sole aim of seriously disrupting public order through intimidation or terror," said a joint statement by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office and the office for the fight against organised crime. "No violent radical ideology, no foreign interference -- the leads that have been fully explored -- could be identified," said the statement, stressing that more than 300 investigators have been mobilised. "However, the investigation has made it possible to categorise these actions as serious organised crime." 'Close to DZ Mafia' Twenty-one people were set to appear before investigating judges in Paris later Friday. Pre-trial detention has been requested for all of them, including two minors and seven already in custody. Several of the arrests took place inside prisons, with suspected leaders of the attacks believed to have directed them from inside. Attackers left the inscription "DDPF" -- standing for "Rights of French Prisoners" -- at nearly all the crime scenes. A group calling itself "DDPF" on messaging app Telegram has described itself as "a movement dedicated to denouncing violations of fundamental rights" that Justice Minister Darmanin "intends to breach". The joint statement from anti-terrorism prosecutors and JUNALCO said that among the suspects was the man thought to be the creator of the Telegram account who is also believed to be the author of the post criticising prison conditions. Already in custody, the man is set to be tried soon for crimes linked to drug trafficking involving DZ Mafia in Marseille, the statement said, referring to a notorious drug cartel. The modus operandi of the assaults bore the hallmarks of organised crime, with perpetrators recruited online and promised "significant remuneration" in exchange for carrying out attacks, said the officials. Separately, one adult and one minor were due to appear before an investigating judge in Lyon on Friday, as the offences they are suspected of committing could not be linked to the main investigation. On Tuesday, lawmakers approved a major new bill to combat drug-related crime, with some of France's most dangerous drug traffickers facing being locked up in high-security units in prison in the coming months.
The Independent
17-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
‘Drug-dealing scum' behind string of French prison attacks, claims minister
Drug-traffickers were most likely behind an unprecedented wave of attacks against French prisons though foreign influence and the far-left remain possible instigators, French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said on Thursday. "It's most likely drug-dealing scum. It is one of the most credible scenarios," Retailleau told RTL radio. At least nine prison facilities and affiliated institutions have been targeted with nightly arson and other attacks this week and a car was set alight at the home of a prison guard. There was no sign of further violence overnight into Thursday. President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that those behind an unprecedented wave of attacks would be tracked down and punished after violence flared for a third night. A car was set on fire in front of the home of a prison guard who works in Aix-Luynes, in southern France, the door of a building in the Seine-et-Marne region was damaged and three cars were set ablaze at Tarascon prison also in southern France, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said, adding that it was opening an investigation. That adds to at least nine prison facilities and other affiliated institutions - including a school for prison staff - targeted the previous two nights. Retailleau confirmed an arrest, but said it was too early to tell if it was linked to the attacks, which the government has said appear to be a response to its efforts to clamp down a record-breaking surge of South American cocaine flooding Europe. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin plans to open high-security prisons to house France's top 100 drug kingpins and limit inmates' family contact. A Telegram group called French Prisoner Rights (DDPF), created the day before the attacks began and arguing that prisoner rights are under threat, is under investigation. The influx of South American cocaine has transformed local drug markets, sparking a wave of violence. Despite record cocaine seizures in France, gangs are reaping windfalls as they expand from traditional power bases in cities such as Marseille into smaller towns unused to drug violence. "Some are trying to intimidate our prison workers and are attacking (prison s) with unacceptable violence. They will be found, sentenced and punished," Macron said on X. The government has pointed the finger at drug traffickers, but also said that was one among several options being probed. "There are clearly people who try to destabilise the state by intimidating it," Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin told CNews TV and Europe 1 radio. "We are taking very firm measures that are leading drug traffickers to react." Graffiti letters "DDPF" - apparently an acronym for "French prisoners' rights" -were tagged on some of the attack sites, which some police sources said could be the work of unknown left-wing militant groups.
Ya Biladi
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
France-Algeria tensions flare again over consulate employee's arrest and expulsions
After only a few days of calm, the diplomatic crisis between France and Algeria has reignited. Algeria has expelled 12 staff members from the French embassy in Algiers in response to France's arrest of an employee at the Algerian consulate, who is suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of an Algerian dissident. In a swift response, French President Emmanuel Macron announced today that France would take reciprocal measures, including the expulsion of «12 employees from the Algerian consular and diplomatic network in France». The French ambassador to Algeria, Stéphane Romatet, has also been recalled for consultations. A statement from the Élysée Palace held Algeria responsible for the renewed tensions, expressing «dismay» at the latest escalation. This deterioration comes despite a phone call between Macron and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, just two weeks ago, which had raised hopes of a thaw following months of strained relations. The Élysée condemned Algeria's expulsion decision as a «disregard for the basic rules of our judicial procedures», calling the move «unjustified and incomprehensible». On the Algerian side, officials blamed French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau for the fresh crisis. However, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot pushed back, stating that Retailleau «has nothing to do with this judicial matter». Barrot emphasized that «the judiciary is independent, and this is a legal process that began months ago, unrelated to the dialogue we resumed» with Algerian authorities in March. Posting on X, Barrot—who visited Algiers in early April—wrote: Les autorités algériennes ont choisi l'escalade : nous répliquons comme annoncé. En réponse à leur décision injustifiée et incompréhensible, nous expulsons 12 agents algériens et rappelons pour consultations notre ambassadeur. Le dialogue, toujours, mais pas à sens unique. — Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) April 15, 2025 Notably, France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office charged three men in Paris last Friday—one of whom is an employee at an Algerian consulate—with abduction, kidnapping, and arbitrary detention as part of a terrorist plot. La justice est indépendante. Si l'Algérie persiste à vouloir expulser douze fonctionnaires français du fait d'une procédure judiciaire indépendante, nous devrons prendre des mesures similaires. — Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) April 15, 2025 The case dates back to late April 2024, when Algerian dissident and influencer Amir Boukhris was abducted on French soil. Algeria had repeatedly requested his extradition for trial. The three suspects have been indicted for forming a «criminal terrorist gang» and are currently in pre-trial detention.
NBC News
16-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
French prisons targeted in drug-related ‘terrorist attack,' minister says
France's justice minister said Tuesday that gun and arson attacks on at least six prisons around the country were acts of terrorism directed at security officials charged with guarding some of the nation's most hardened crime kingpins. Visiting Toulon prison in southern France, whose entrance was shot at with an AK-47 automatic rifle, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said he could not be sure if the attacks were linked to government efforts to clamp down on France's fast-growing drug trade. But he said authorities were making life much harder for imprisoned gangsters, and the government would not shy away from tackling drug crime, which has boosted support for the far right. 'The Republic will not back down,' he told reporters. 'These are extremely serious crimes ... an attack on the public prison service, that is, a terrorist attack.' Years of record South American cocaine imports to Europe have transformed local drug markets, sparking a wave of violence. Despite record cocaine seizures in France, gangs are reaping windfalls as they expand from traditional power bases in cities such as Marseille into smaller towns unused to drug violence. Darmanin, who plans to create new high-security prisons to crack down on gangsters who run their empires from behind bars, said at least six prisons had been targeted. Prison officers' union UFAP said vehicles were set on fire outside jails in Villepinte, Nanterre, Aix-Luynes, and Valence. In Nancy, a prison officer was threatened at home, while in Marseille, there was an attempted arson attack. 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. 'The nature of these facts, the targets chosen and the concerted character of an action committed on multiple points on the territory, as well as the objective to seriously disturb public order with intimidation ... leads, at this stage, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office to take charge to ensure, in this unprecedented context, national coordination of the probes involved,' PNAT said in a statement. PNAT said its investigation may involve charges, including attempted murder with a terrorist outfit committed against a person in a position of public authority. Darmanin said it was unusual for PNAT, rather than specialized organized crime prosecutors, to take charge of the investigation, but it was justified due to the national scale of attacks against symbols of the state. The letters 'DDPF' — apparently an acronym for 'French prisoners' rights' — were tagged on many of the attack sites, and police sources suggested it could be the work of a far-left militant group. Darmanin said there had been DDPF groups on Telegram and Signal that had encouraged attacks against prisons, but 'there hasn't been any claim of responsibility.' 'I don't know who's behind this slogan, and I don't care because what I remember is not that a prison door was tagged, but that it was shot at by a Kalashnikov,' he said. Darmanin said the prison attacks reminded him of contracts given to gangsters to threaten, assault or kill rivals. 'We generally see such things between thugs; we rarely see it against the forces of the Republic,' he said. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he had instructed law enforcement to step up protection of staff and prisons. The rise in gang crime has increased support for the far-right National Rally party and helped drag French politics rightward. Darmanin has proposed measures to tighten prison security, including building high-security jails to isolate the country's top 100 kingpins. Lawmakers are also close to approving a sweeping new anti-drug trafficking law that would create a new national organized crime prosecutors' office and give greater investigative powers to police probing drug gangs. Authorities scored a win in February, when they recaptured Mohamed Amra, a French fugitive known as 'The Fly." His high-profile escape as he was being transported from prison to court resulted in the deaths of two prison guards.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
French prisons hit by wave of attacks after clampdown on drug traffickers
France's national terrorism office has launched an investigation into a wave of apparently coordinated attacks at multiple prisons across the country believed to be linked to a government clampdown on drug traffickers. Gunmen with automatic weapons opened fire on the entrance to Toulon prison in southern France in the early hours of Tuesday, while in recent days cars have been set alight outside four other jails, and in Marseille a residential building housing prison guards was attacked. The attacks came as the French parliament prepares to approve a new law increasing the power of police investigating drug dealers, toughening prison conditions for convicted traffickers and creating a new prosecutors' office responsible for investigating organised crime. Soaring cocaine imports from South America to Europe have sparked drug-linked violence in France where seizures of the drug are at a historic high, police say. The drug gangs traditionally based in cities like Marseille have expanded into smaller regional towns unused to drug violence. The justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, was due to visit Toulon prison on Tuesday afternoon in a show of solidarity with staff. Darmanin said he was determined to stamp out drug kingpins' capacity to operate from behind bars and has ordered the building of two new high-security jails to hold more than 700 prisoners. 'Attempts have been made to intimidate staff in several prisons ranging from burning vehicles to firing automatic weapons. The French Republic is facing up to the problem of drug trafficking and taking measures that will massively disrupt the criminal networks,' Darmanin wrote on X. He added: 'The Republic is confronted with drug trafficking and is taking measures that will deeply disturb criminal networks. It is being challenged and will be firm and courageous.' Prisons in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Valence, Nîmes, Luynes, Villepinte and Nanterre were also targeted. Staff unions said burnt vehicles had been found in prison car parks for several days in the runup to what appeared to be Monday night's coordinated assault. Cars have also been set alight outside the National School of Prison Administration. The legislation before the French parliament would allow prisons to hold convicted drug dealers in isolation, deprive them of collective walks and access to family life units, tap their phones and limit calls. Darmanin has also proposed giving the justice minister the power to decide whether solitary confinement orders – which must currently be renewed every three months – can be applied for up to four years, and applied not only to convicted drug traffickers but also those awaiting trial. The appointment of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) to oversee the investigation, as opposed to the organised crime unit, suggests police believe the attacks may be the work of a militant group. PNAT said it would be working with the country's interior intelligence agency. The interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said the attacks were 'unacceptable' and ordered increased police protection of prisons and staff. In February – as he announced record cocaine seizures of 47 tonnes in the first 11 months of last year, more than double that seized in 2023 – Retailleau said France had been hit by a 'white tsunami' that had rewritten the rules of the criminal landscape.
