Five people were held hostage on Friday in Arles prison, in the south of France, police and prison sources told AFP.
An inmate equipped with a homemade pick and known for “significant psychiatric disorders” is holding four nursing staff and a prison guard, according to these sources.
The man does not present “a terrorist profile”, underlined a prison source.
The hostage-taking began around 10:15 GMT in the health unit of the Arles central house, a prison source said.
“The situation remains calm,” said a source close to the matter.
The 37-year-old man was incarcerated for rape at gunpoint. He says he wants to “change prison centers,” according to the source close to the matter.
Several intervention forces were deployed on site.
“We have mobilized all means” to put an end to the hostage-taking, indicated on X the Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, saying he was following “the evolution of the situation in real time”.
The inmate was eligible for release in 2031, said the source close to the case.
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