An inmate has taken two guards hostage at a top security French prison.

The long-term prisoner was armed with a handmade weapon, according to local reports.

Emmanuel Guimaraes of the Workers Force union told Ouest-France newspaper that a special intervention force was on the scene at Conde-Sur-Sarthe Penitentiary late Tuesday.

The wing where the guards were taken hostage has been evacuated.

Guimaraes said the inmate has gained the reputation of being a ‘professor of hostage-taking’ and this was the fourth time he has turned guards into hostages.

Each time he seeks a transfer to another prison.

Frederic Eko of the SNEPAP prison personnel union told BFMTV that the hostage-taker is a common criminal who is being watched for potential Islamic radicalization.

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

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