At least two French prison officers have been killed in an ambush on a prison van near Rouen in Normandy, France.
The prisoner was being taken from court to a prison and escaped after the attack.
French justice minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, says three other officers were seriously injured.
The officers were shot with “heavy weapons” by the prisoner’s accomplices, the minister says.
Several hundred police officers and gendarmes are involved in the manhunt.
French prosecutors name the inmate as Mohamed Amra, born in 1994, he was previously convicted of aggravated robbery and charged with abduction leading to death.
Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau, identifies him as a “closely watched inmate”.
The French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, speaking to the French parliament, after a minute’s silence was held, said France would never cower to violence.
“Ours is a country that will never cower to violence, that will remain united. Everything will be put in place to track down perpetrators. We will spare no effort or men.
“And I’m telling you, they (the perpetrators) will pay. We owe it to their families, loved ones, prison officers and to all French citizens.”
A police source told the AFP agency that “several individuals” arrived in two vehicles, rammed the van, then fled. One of the attackers was wounded.
French President Emmanuel Macron says the attack was a “shock to us all”. Writing on X, he says: “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.”
