Over 120 French Prison Inmates Stage Riot, Special Op Underway - Reports

French police have been carrying out an operation in the prison of Fleury-Merogis, south of Paris, where some 123 inmates refused to return in their cells, BFMTV broadcaster reported Thursday.

According to the prison's administration, the inmates' protest is not violent, they are simply refusing to return to their cells after their midday walk was cut short.

The incident occurred after on Monday hundred of guards from the same penal institution gathered to voice their concerns, chant slogans, and burn wooden pallets in protest against the rise of inmate violence against guards, insufficient staff, and a lack of legal and other resources to deal with the dangerous ex-jihadists they had been tasked with jailing.

#FleuryMerogis pic.twitter.com/Wupnckryb9

— Xenia__Sputnik (@XseniaSputnik) 18 января 2018 г.

Initially, the protests erupted following last week's stabbing attack by a former al-Qaeda member during transfer which resulted in the injury of three guards in the prison of Vendin-le-Vieil. Guards unions have accused authorities of failing to deal with upwards of 4,000 recently reported cases of violence against guards.

President Emmanual Macron has vowed to develop an action plan to deal with the situation by next month. The president has faced heat over recently adopted counterterrorism laws replacing the country's two-year state of emergency, with critics suggesting the laws compromise civil liberties.