PARIS — Several prisons in France have been hit by a wave of attacks overnight, the justice minister has said.

Gérald Darmanin said prisons had faced "intimidation attempts" ranging from vehicle burning to automatic weapon fire.

La Parisien reports that vehicles were set on fire in several prison car parks, while a prison in Toulon was targeted by gunshots from an automatic weapon.

The newspaper lists six establishments as being targeted: in Toulon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, Valence and Nîmes, Luynes, Villepinte, and Nanterre.

In a post on X, Darmanin said he was traveling to Toulon to offer his support to affected officers.

Without directly attributing blame for the attacks, he said the French government was "facing up to the problem of drug trafficking" and taking measures that would "profoundly disrupt" criminal networks.

The prison guard union, FO Justice, expressed its "deepest concern and anger" following the "extremely serious" attacks overnight.

The union posted updates from the aftermath of several attacks on X, including images of bullet holes in the Toulon prison windows, and of burnt-out vehicles in other prison car parks.

It called for urgent government action to protect prison staff. — BBC