'They will pay' - French PM after prison van attack

STORY: :: France's Prime Minister says the gunmen who attacked a prison van, killing at least two guards, 'will pay'

:: Val-de-Reuil, France

:: May 14, 2024

:: Paris, France

:: Gabriel Attal, French Prime Minister

“Everything will be done to find the perpetrators of this despicable crime. The Epervier plan, the protocol to locate a fugitive or missing person has been triggered. We will spare no effort, no means, we will track them down, we will find them and, I tell you, they will pay. We owe it to the victims. We owe it to their families and loved ones. We owe it to all members of the prison administration. We owe it to all French people. Thank you.”

The orchestrated attack, which comes amid rising drug-linked violence across Europe, took place around 0900 GMT at a toll booth in Incarville in the Eure region of northern France. The unnamed inmate and the attackers escaped, police said.

Local media reports named the fugitive inmate as 30-year-old Mohamed A.

A French police source said he was suspected of ordering a murder in Marseille, and had ties to the city's powerful "Blacks" gang.