France Launches Massive Manhunt After Ambush and Escape of Inmate

Hundreds of police officers in France are on a manhunt for an escaped inmate and the armed assailants who freed him during a violent ambush of a prison convoy. The ambush, staged by a small group of assailants at a tollbooth about 85 miles northwest of Paris, left two guards dead and three others injured before the assailants fled with the prisoner. The attack has deeply shocked the nation and prompted protests by prison guards around the country.

The search for the escaped inmate and the attackers has mobilized over 450 officers. Gérald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, stated that “considerable resources” are being allocated to the manhunt. The officers have been scouring the area where the ambush took place, where the assailants used two cars to block the prison convoy before opening fire with automatic weapons.