Van attack: two prison officers testify

On January 28, 2019, Marie-Claude and Patrick, a couple of prison officers, transferred an offender from Béziers prison (Hérault) to the Tarascon court (Bouches-du-Rhône). They are accompanied by Rémi, a third colleague who drives the car. While the trip goes well, everything changes when arriving at court. “I get out of the vehicle, I go to ring the bell and at that moment, there is a guy who is masked, who is armed, who hits me and who orders me to get on the ground”explains Patrick.

Meanwhile, the two other agents of the prison convoy are targeted by a second man, who asks them to untie the inmate. He escapes with his accomplices. Several bullets were fired during the attack. “We had the opportunity to see the images of our attack. We cannot see them, it is something that is horrible for us (…) you are forced to live with that, you cannot do otherwise”, assures Marie-Claude. Patrick did not want to see the images of the attack on the prison van which took place in Eure on May 14. For them, the page “will never turn”.