Two French prison officers have been killed in an ambush on a prison van near Rouen in Normandy.
Reports in French media say an inmate who was being transported in the van has escaped together with the attackers.
Several hundred police officers and gendarmes have reportedly been deployed to carry out a manhunt.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that “everything is being done to find the perpetrators”.
Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said three officers were seriously injured in the attack and are currently hospitalised.
French media have named the inmate as Mohamed A., born in 1994. French newspaper Le Figaro said he is nicknamed “La Mouche” – the Fly – and has several criminal convictions for drug offences and attempted homicide.
French outlet BFMTV reported that the inmate was being transported back to the jail in the town of Évreux after attending a court hearing this morning in Rouen.
The ambush took place around 11:00 (09:00 GMT) near a toll booth on the A154 motorway, which is now closed in both directions.
It was carried out by several individuals who approached the prison convoy in two vehicles, according to AFP.
Unconfirmed reports in French media say the detainee and the attackers escaped in a car that was later found burnt out nearby.
Images posted on social media and used by some French outlets show what appears to be hooded gunmen approaching the convoy. The video has not been verified by the BBC.
Speaking to the media following a crisis unit meeting, Mr Dupond-Moretti said the accomplices had used “heavy weaponry” to attack the prison van.
“Two agents died. One leaves behind a wife and two children who were meant to celebrate their 21st birthday in two days. The other leaves a wife who is five months pregnant.”
“Everything – and I mean everything – will be put in place to find the perpetrators of this vile crime,” Mr Dupond-Moretti said, adding that the perpetrators were “people for whom life has no value” and that they would be found and punished “in a way that is proportionate to the crime”.
