France: Several prisons hit by attacks,vehicles burned

In France, a series of attacks were carried out overnight on several prisons with vehicles set alight and automatic weapons fired. French justice minister Gerald Darmanin said: "Attempts have been made to intimidate staff in several prisons, ranging from burning vehicles to firing automatic weapons." French media reports that six establishments were targeted - in Toulon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, Valence and Nîmes, Luynes, Villepinte, and Nanterre. Darmanin said the attacks seemed to be linked to government efforts to clamp down on drug trafficking.Darmanin said prisons faced "intimidation attempts," including vehicles being set on fire and one targeted with automatic gunfire."The French Republic is facing up to the problem of drug trafficking and is taking measures that will massively disrupt the criminal networks," he added. 
Meanwhile, no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but a source said "all of this appears coordinated and clearly linked to the minister's anti-narco-banditry strategy." France's anti-terrorism prosecutor's department has confirmed it is investigating the attacks. According to local media, the entrance to Toulon prison was targeted by gunmen in a car at around 1am. The gunmen fled the scene. On Monday night, the entrance to a prison in Toulon was shot at with an automatic weapon, while vehicles were torched in the car parks of several prisons, according to various French media reports and posts shared on social media.