Five people were held hostage on Friday in Arles prison, in the south of France, police and prison sources said.
An inmate equipped with a homemade pick and known for “significant psychiatric disorders” is holding back four nursing staff and a prison guard, several sources reported.
The man does not present “a terrorist profile”, according to a prison source.
The hostage-taking began around 11:15 a.m. in the health unit of the Arles central house, said a prison source.
“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 wantschange prison center“, according to the source close to the matter.
Several intervention forces, including the Raid, 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 to follow”in real time the evolution of the situation“.
The inmate was eligible for release in 2031, said the source close to the case.
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