Police Quell French Jail Riot; 8 Reported Hurt
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From Reuters
MARSEILLES, France — French police took 31 prisoners into custody for questioning Friday after eight people, including one inmate, were injured in rioting at a Marseilles prison, police sources said.
Prisoners at the Baumettes jail set fire to part of the building and attacked security forces with rocks and pieces of wood. Calm was restored after riot police fired tear gas.
It was not immediately clear why the riot started, but French prisons are chronically overcrowded, officially listed as holding 50,000 inmates in space designed for 32,500.
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