Overview

• At least 10 French prisons were targeted in April over five nights, involving gunfire, arson, and threats to prison staff at their homes.
• Investigators identified the attacks as organised crime orchestrated by drug traffickers, with links to the Marseille-based DZ Mafia cartel.
• A Telegram group, 'DDPF,' was used to coordinate the assaults, recruit attackers online, and promise significant payment for participation.
• The investigation, initially handled by anti-terror prosecutors, has been transferred to JUNALCO, France's organised crime office, following the absence of ideological motives.
• French lawmakers approved a sweeping counter-narcotics law this week, introducing stricter prison regimes and enhanced tools to combat drug-related crime.