A pair of French inmates pulled off a jailbreak that could have come straight out of a movie. Authorities say they sawed through the bars of their cells and used bedsheets to escape from an overcrowded prison in Dijon, reports CBS News. The two men, ages 19 and 32, were both awaiting trial on serious charges—one for attempted murder in a drug case, the other for domestic violence and threats. Staff say the inmates used "old-fashioned, manual saw blades" to engineer their escape. The breakout happened just before dawn, and guards noticed the escape soon after.
This incident comes on the heels of another recent jailbreak in Rennes, where a man serving time for theft fled during a prison outing to a planetarium, AFP reports. The prison's direcor was fired. Union officials and staff say they've been warning of security lapses for months, citing overcrowding and outdated equipment. Dijon prison, built in 1853, is currently holding 311 inmates though it's meant for 180. France has some of the worst prison overcrowding in Europe, with the national average at 135 inmates for every 100 available spots.
Critics blame the government for focusing resources on new supermax facilities for drug traffickers and terror suspects, while neglecting regular prisons. Three directors' unions accused Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin of pouring money into high-profile projects while basic security suffers elsewhere. The Dijon facility is slated to receive $7.3 million as part of an effort to crack down on contraband phones, but prison officers' union official Ahmed Saih says what's really needed are more personnel and better equipment, including "gratings that cannot be sawn through."
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