An inmate took five staff hostage at a prison in southern French city Arles on Friday, police and prison service sources told AFP.

A prison inmate surrendered Friday afternoon after taking five staff hostage in the southern French city of Arles for several hours, authorities said.

The convicted rapist armed with a handmade shank had been holding four medical staff and one prison guard in the infirmary since around 11:15 am (1015 GMT).

"The hostage-taker in Arles has just been arrested. No-one was hurt," Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X just before 4:00 pm, thanking prison staff and police.

Response forces including the elite RAID police unit had been sent to the scene.

One hostage, a doctor, had been released earlier at around 2:30 pm, a source familiar with the case said.
Multiple sources had earlier said the 37-year-old hostage-taker, serving a sentence for armed rape, suffered from "significant psychiatric disturbances".

A prison service source added that the man did not have the "profile of a terrorist", while a source familiar with the case said he was demanding to be moved to a different prison.

The Arles prison holds only inmates sentenced to more than 10 years or presenting a security risk.

Friday's hostage-taker was set to remain in jail until 2031, the source familiar with the case said.