End of prison hostage standoff in France, 2 guards freed

PARIS – The French justice ministry says two guards have been freed after a hostage-taking by an inmate armed with a hand-made weapon at a top security French prison in Normandy.

The inmate surrendered overnight to special intervention forces called to the scene at Conde-Sur-Sarthe Penitentiary, the ministry said Wednesday.

The prisoner had taken the two guards hostage at dinner time Tuesday.

Prison union representatives described the 35-year-old inmate as “professor of hostage-taking” as he was previously involved in five similar incidents.

The man, convicted for rape and the murder of a prison cellmate, has a history of psychiatric problems, the ministry said.

Conde-Sur-Sarthe was also the site of a hostage-taking in March.