© Agence France-Presse/ Pascal Pochard-Casabiance
Riot police officers walk by Borgo prison on January 22, 2018 on the French Mediterranean Island of Corsica, as striking prison guards block its access as part of a nationwide movement to call for better safety and wages
French prison authorities warned Wednesday that protesting prison guards were risking fines or sanctions on the movement's 10th day, with actions at 129 prisons.
Guards seeking improved working conditions and better safety measures set up picket lines or blocked prison entrances. Guards at 16 prisons "put down their keys" - meaning they refused all work - a move which triggers a demand for police and gendarmes to do the guards' job, a Prison Administration official said.
The official, confirming French press reports, said that letters sent to prison directors laid out possible financial or disciplinary sanctions against protesting personnel, including job suspensions of five to 15 days. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and could not be identified by name.
The official said sanctions were not automatic and could be handed out but then "suspended" and would be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Prison guards are forbidden from going on strike, and the possibility of issuing suspended sanctions appeared to be a tactic to soften the blow. It was not immediately known whether any prison directors had decided to levy sanctions against protesting personnel.
Comment: See also:
- French jail guards to continue strike until more secure facilities for terrorists provided
- Two guards in French prison attacked by 'radicalized inmate'
- Convicted murderer assaults 7 French prison guards amid protests for more security
The almost univocal decision to support Islamic radicals isn't turning out so well for Western societies. Maybe they should've thought through the consequences before making a deal with the devil.