The order was a response to last month's attack on a police station in the Loire Valley town of Saint-Aignan by a group of young Roma.

BBC: France rounds up hundreds of Roma

Three people have been arrested and five others are being sought in connection with the theft from a warehouse in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Quebec Provincial Police said in a statement Tuesday.

CNN: 3 arrested in massive maple syrup heist

Earlier on Sunday, police received a call from the staff at the Saint-Jerome jail, reporting the escape around 2:20 p.m.

NPR: 2 Inmates Escape From Quebec Jail In Helicopter

Those from certain rough banlieues, such as Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris (93), have always been treated with extra suspicion by the police.

ECONOMIST: French number plates

Quebec provincial police said later that they had arrested three people about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Saint-Jerome jail from which the inmates escaped.

NPR: 2 Inmates Escape From Quebec Jail In Helicopter