Protests hit French prisons over violence, overcrowding
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President Emmanuel Macron has ordered an overhaul of France's overcrowded penitentiary system, as prison staff burned tires and set barricades in protests over violent working conditions.
Long-running complaints by prison guards erupted into protests Monday at prisons around France, after a knife-wielding inmate reportedly tried to attack several people last week at the high-security Vendin-le-Vieil prison in northern France.
The director of Vendin-le-Vieil reportedly submitted his resignation Monday under pressure from prison staff, who accuse him of not doing enough to prevent such violence.
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Macron said Monday he ordered his government to come up with a "global penitentiary plan" by the end of February that would modernize facilities and prison intelligence-gathering. He also suggested a "massive" shift to alternative punishment such as obligatory public service or electronic bracelets.