For almost seven years, Élise has been a prison visitor. An unusual commitment for a young woman of 34, who goes almost every Saturday to the Nanterre remand center, in the Paris suburbs, to bring, for a moment, a “ window to the outside » to the detainees.
Since she was little, Élise has always undeniably had “ the sense of humanity “. The one who, in another life, would have dreamed of being a psychologist begins her career in law, while keeping within herself this ardent desire to understand others. From the age of 26, Élise became involved as a prison visitor, driven by the deep conviction that “ the existence of prisoners is not limited to the offense they committed “.
Lawyer, then Director of Communication and Marketing in the legal worldher attraction to the prison world comes mainly from visits to prison to see her father, who was imprisoned when she was a teenager.
First contact with the prison
With her big smile, her natural ease and her piercing but tender gaze, this young woman is used to expressing herself in public, but above all, to listening. Élise is the big sister. The one who pays attention to others, both in her personal life and in her volunteer commitments. The one who protects, to the point of putting everyone before herself. The one who cashes in.
She spent her adolescence in Anjou, after having lived in several French cities throughout his military father’s assignments. Following the divorce very difficult » from her parents when she was four years old, she recalls a childhood filled with contrasts. Of the ” very high highs, lots of love. But also lows that are too low, family dramas that leave their mark. » So, Élise is growing up too quickly. “ I have no memories of carelessness or lightness during my childhood », she punctuates.
When she was only 13, her father, to whom she was very close, found himself behind bars for five months. The teenager then penetrates for the first time in a prison, with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity. “ I immediately realized that I was entering a place that not everyone could see, and I felt almost privileged to have access to it. “, she remembers.
Élise remembers the reunion with her dad with touching precision. “ He was finally there, palpable, in front of meshe describes with emotion. When I found him, he had the same smell, the same smile, but also the traces of his confinement, with his shoes without laces and his beard which had grown a little. »
“ Prisoners are our neighbors of tomorrow »
It was precisely on the advice of her father that Élise turned to law, more by default than by choice. At university, she devoted herself body and soul to her studies. “ Work was the only thing I could hold on to. My safe bet “, she emphasizes.
At 25, then a competition law lawyer, Élise wondered. How can you bring more meaning to your life, do activities more in line with your values? She therefore decided to apply to become a prison visitor, approaching the National Association of Visitors to Persons Under the Hand of Justice (ANVP), and chose the Nanterre remand center, the closest to her home.
A year later, the young woman made her first visit. “ As a prison visitor, we only have access to the person’s first and last name and prison number. Not his record, nor his sentence. If she wants to talk to us about it, that’s her choice. But we’re not here to judge her », Indicates the thirty-year-old. In the visiting room, she explains her role to the inmates each time. “ I am a volunteer. Neither psychologist, nor professor, nor lawyer. Simply there to spend time with them and give them kind attention. »
Above all, there to welcome their words, in an approach full of humility. “ Once, an inmate told me during our first exchange that he wanted to tell me what he had done, but he couldn’t. He was afraid that I would never come back to see him. After a few discussions, he managed to talk to me about it. It was very touching, a form of catharsis in which I tried to accompany him as best I could », she recalls.
These meetings also prepare for their reintegration into society. “ These detainees are our neighbors of tomorrow. We all have an interest, collectively, in ensuring that they leave prison not too damaged. “, she assures. If Élise is a prison visitor, it is also because she is deeply “ convinced that there is a part of humanity in each of us, which must not be crushed “.
Madagascar, the country who took away ” his father
Élise’s story is also the story of a quest for oneself. His paternal family resides in Madagascar where she goes for the first time at the age of fifteen, when her father decides to reconnect with his past. Élise then also feels this need to retrace her origins, to return in the footsteps of her ancestors.
On July 21, 2021, everything changed. While she is pregnant with her first son, she learns that her father is arrested in Madagascar and that he probably faces the death penalty. Accused of being involved in“Apollo 21” affair, an alleged coup attempt against President Andry Rajoelina, his father received 20 years of forced labor before being imprisoned. “ It’s a terrible form of helplessness “, she blurted. She leads a battle alone and from a distance. grueling » to obtain his release and transfer to France. “ It’s extremely heavy having to take care of everything, but I have no choice. » For the young woman, one thing is certain: she will never set foot in her country of origin again. “ Madagascar will forever remain the country that took my father away from me “, she confides.
As she lives the three years ” the most intense of his life », Élise holds on and tirelessly continues her activity as a prison visitor. “ My father’s incarceration in Madagascar further strengthened my commitment. These hours that I dedicate to the prison bring me a powerful and saving feeling of usefulness “, she reveals.
In the midst of this chaos, the young mother leads the “ most beautiful project of his entire life »: raise your two children with your partner, passing on to them “ this precious taste of human contact » and by building them at all costs « a stable family cocoon “. Proud of her tumultuous journey, Élise has only one simple wish for the future: to finally live a more peaceful existence.