Footage apparently taken at the scene shows figures armed with assault rifles and several crashed vehicles.
At least two prison guards were shot dead after being ambushed while carrying a prisoner who managed to escape in northwestern France.
The inmate Mohamed Amra, 30, goes by the nickname The Fly and is believed to have gone on the run after his accomplices killed the guards.
Footage taken at the scene shows the moment a car rammed into the prison van before hooded figures fired shots and helped the man escape.
Three other people were seriously injured in the prison break in Incarville, in the Eure region.
It has been reported that the two men killed were agents from the Regional Centre for Judicial Extractions (PREJ), based in Caen.
One was a 21-year-old father of two, and the other an expectant father whose wife was five months pregnant.
Éric Dupond-Moretti, France’s justice minister, said the three wounded guards were all in a ‘life threatening’ condition.
Amra, who had a total of 13 convictions to his name, was under ‘special surveillance’, but not considered radicalised or a terrorist suspect, said Mr Dupond-Moretti.
At the time of the attack, Amra was on his way from Évreux prison to court for a commital hearing that would have been made public.
A police source told Le Parisien that Amra was ‘the head of a narcotics network’ in France, and accordingly considered hugely dangerous.
The French publication also reported that Mohammed had attempted to escape his cell just two days before Tuesday’s escape.
He had allegedly been placed in solitary confinement and his surveillance level was raised to ‘Escort 3’.
Amra, who had a total of 13 convictions to his name, was under ‘special surveillance’, but not considered radicalised or a terrorist suspect, said Éric Dupond-Moretti, France’s justice minister.
A woman on a bus near the attack told Le Parisien: ‘I still had my headphones in my ears, and suddenly I see that everyone is ducking down on the bus and everyone is going to the back.
She added: ‘I took off my headphones and I heard lots of gunshots, big booms too.’
She said she saw a car catch fire right next to the bus and that a passenger got behind the wheel to reverse the vehicle.
Mohamed is alleged to have fled with the people who attacked the convoy in two cars – an Audi A5 and a BMW 5 series.
It is believed they targeted the prison van near the tollbooth on the A154 at 11am today.
Officials have said more than 200 gendarmes have been mobilized, mainly from Eure, but also from neighbouring departments.
A helicopter and specialized units, including the GIGN, are providing reinforcement, it has been reported.
A local police source said: ‘The ambush happened at the Incarville toll booth on the A154 road. Kalashnikovs are thought to be have been used.
‘Three prison officers are thought to be dead, and three others are seriously wounded.
‘A detainee known for cases linked to drug trafficking escaped with a gang made up of around four men.’
French President, Emmanuel Macron said: ‘This morning’s attack, which cost the lives of prison officers, is a shock to us all.
‘The Nation stands alongside the families, the injured and their colleagues.
‘Everything is being done to find the perpetrators of this crime so that justice can be done in the name of the French people.
‘We will be intractable.’
Tweeting before the death toll rose, French justice minister Eric Dupond-Moretti posted on X: ‘A prison convoy was attacked in Eure. Two of our prison officers have died, three are seriously injured.
‘All my thoughts are with the victims, their families and their colleagues.’
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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