France reels after double prison guard killing
Feelings are tense outside La Santé prison in central Paris as a group of thirty or forty prison officers stage a protest following the tragic murder of two of their colleagues in an ambush at a motorway toll in Normandy earlier in the week.
A banner prominently displays the words “Prisons in Mourning.”
Reflecting on the incident, one officer remarks, “When you hold a gun to a guard’s head and issue an ultimatum, they’ll comply to save lives. There was no need for anyone to die.”
Another officer adds, “While robberies are unfortunate occurrences, the violence displayed was unnecessary.”
The brutality of the attack has deeply unsettled both prison staff and the broader French public.
Gone are the romanticized notions of an honorable code associated with the bygone era of legendary bandits. It was believed that in those times, bandits refrained from taking lives.
However, the recent events suggest otherwise. “There was no attempt at negotiation. Their first action was a barrage of gunfire,” laments one guard from La Santé prison.
The government has pledged to utilize all available resources to capture Mohamed Amra and his accomplices, who orchestrated his escape as he was being transported back to jail from a court appearance in Rouen.
Throughout the country, discussions revolve around the escalating violence characteristic of the criminal underworld, particularly about drug trafficking.
While Amra was known within these circles, his exact status remains ambiguous. Police sources describe him as “middle-ranking,” with prior convictions primarily related to lower-level offenses such as aggravated robbery.
Yet, the meticulous planning and ruthless execution of the escape, involving multiple vehicles and armed individuals, raise questions about his true role and influence within the criminal network.
La Santé prison staff recall Amra, also known as “La Mouche” (The Fly), as he was incarcerated there in 2022.
In June of that year, following the discovery of a murdered man in a burned-out car in a Marseille suburb, Amra became a suspect due to his connection to the incident.
However, his presence in La Santé prison during the time of the murder begs the question: what role, if any, could he have played in the crime?
The answer is simple: a very big one.
“Every prisoner has access to a mobile phone,” says the guard. “Every single day we observe about 20 items thrown over the walls of the prison. They are in general phones and drugs.”
Indeed, on top of the prison walls, it is possible to see plastic bags that have been caught there – gifts for inmates that did not quite make it over.
So it would have been perfectly possible for Amra to organize his network from inside his cell. According to Le Monde newspaper, he was also pulling the strings in several other rackets – extortion and kidnapping for money, for example.
“Everything is tilted in favor of the criminal,” says the guard. “For example by law, a prisoner has to be informed 48 hours in advance of any court hearing.
“So of course Amra was able to tell accomplices on the outside exactly when he was expected in Rouen. All they had to do was wait.”
The killings on Tuesday coincided with the release of a Senate report into the spread of drug crime in France and the concomitant resort to extreme violence.
“We are not yet a narco-state. But the warning sounds are now alarm bells,” says Jerome Durain, a Socialist Party senator and co-author of the report.
The senators recommend that the state give itself several new powers to tackle the scourge, which it says is worth €3-6 billion (£2.57-5.15 billion) a year.
At La Santé, they want more trained staff, better protection, and more authority.
“Everything is geared towards maintaining order. All the prisoners smoke cannabis. They know it, and they know that we know it.
“But we do nothing because if they smoke, it keeps things quiet. Ultimately it corrupts the system.”
With European elections approaching, Tuesday’s drama is grist to the mill for the far-right, already riding high in the polls. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally’s call for tougher policing and tougher penalties strikes a chord.
At La Santé many of the prison staff are black – originally from Africa or the Caribbean.
“We were all brought up in a world of the political left,” says one, named Geoff. “But we are moving to the right. I can’t speak for the others, but I will be voting for the (far-right) National Rally.”
