FRESNES. The Minister of Justice affirms this August 23 that the chancellery was not informed of the organization of the Kohlanness at the prison of Fresnes. According to the investigation report which has not yet been released, Éric Dupont-Moretti’s version would be accurate.
[Mis à jour le 23 août 2022 à 20h44] “I was never informed, my cabinet was never informed”. This Tuesday, August 23, Eric Dupont-Moretti could not have been clearer about the controversy surrounding “Kohlanness”, a parody of the adventure show Kohlanta, at Fresnes prison. During his trip to the Fleury-Mérogis remand center, the Minister of Justice maintained that his ministry had not been made aware of the organization of a fun competition at the Fresnes penitentiary center. What about the contract signed by the production of Kohlanness? The agreement would have been signed between the organizers and the director of the remand center according to the Keeper of the Seals who relies on “the investigation report [qui sera publié] in the hours to come.”
According to information from BFM TV, the version of the Keeper of the Seals would be the correct one. Thus, the report would indicate that: “It results from all of these elements that neither the management of the prison administration, nor the office of the Keeper of the Seals, nor the DICOM of the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice had knowledge of the precise modalities of the Kohlanness activity organized at the Fresnes penitentiary center on July 27, 2022. The extent of the event was discovered the same day. Moreover, the investigators would have recorded that “therefore, if an authorization in principle from the chancellery has been given with regard to this action and its media coverage, it is without knowing the precise details, in particular with regard to the karting event and the water basin. The Keeper of the Seals could not be informed either.”
Who was aware of Kohlanness at Fresnes prison?
“Everyone was aware” of the filming of an episode of Kohlanness at Fresnes prison assured the producer of the show, Enzo Angelosanto on BFMTV on August 22. However the Minister of Justice is not of this opinion and the first elements of the administrative investigation seem to go without the chancery according to statements by Eric Dupond-Moretti this Tuesday, August 23. The Minister explained that the organization of the filming of the program was agreed between the production and the management of the prison of Fresnes, the parties to the contract revealed by the continuous information channel. The ministry would have heard only of the implementation of a sports competition and not of the holding of a karting race.
However, Enzo Angelosanto, producer of the show Kohlanness explained on August 22 that the organization of the event was possible thanks to agreements concluded with the Ministry of Justice, responsible for prison administrations. “We had agreements, we were ready to do it, at no time did we take anyone by surprise, everyone was aware of our action, we had validations, we signed an agreement between our parties and the ‘prison administration,’ added the producer. Who insisted that everything was validated, roadmap and images of the show, “by representatives of the Ministry of Justice affiliated with the cabinet”.
The Ministry of Justice does not deny having been aware of the shooting but explains that the images of the video do not correspond with what had been agreed upon beforehand. However, the ministerial cabinet was able to control the images shot since a communication team was present at Fresnes prison on July 27 to attend the broadcast, accompany the journalists and validate the images before they are broadcast. Which implies that the videos of the karting are not a surprise for the ministry. Especially since according to Figaro the content of the video has been checked by the Communication Department of the Ministry of Justice, causing a delay in the broadcast of the program on Youtube.
And concerning the Keeper of the Seals? Eric Dupond-Moretti was not personally aware of the organization of the Kohlanness according to the ministry. According to information from BFM TV, the version of the Minister of Justice is correct. Journalists from the continuous news channel revealed part of the report exonerating him: “It follows from all of these elements that neither the management of the prison administration, nor the office of the Keeper of the Seals, nor the DICOM of the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice did not have knowledge of the precise modalities of the Koh Lantess activity organized at the Fresnes penitentiary center on July 27, 2022. The extent of the event was discovered the same day.
Why was the Kohlanness video at Fresnes prison deleted?
Only three days after the publication of the video of the Kohlanness at Fresnes prison, “shocking images” according to the Minister of Justice, the show’s production team announced in a press release published on the evening of August 22 the deletion of the video explaining that “the confidence that[‘elle a] granted to the penitentiary center of Fresnes as well as to the Ministry of Justice has been broken”.
The organizers of Kohlanness have learned that two people convicted of crimes, respectively rape and murder, took part in the filming despite the production’s wish to film only inmates imprisoned for short sentences. Also “out of respect for the victims”, the program shot in Fresnes prison was withdrawn. The choice of participating inmates was up to the prison administration and the production indicated that it had no knowledge of the profiles. The Ministry of Justice, which already indicated that it had not been aware of the organization of a karting, also said that it had not been informed of the profiles of the participants in the show.
Before it was deleted, the 25-minute video of the Kohlantess in Fresnes showed three teams, including one of prisoners, competing in a series of tests: general culture quiz, obstacle course, karting or even tug of war . The event had several goals: financial support for three charities and work for the integration of prisoners. This second explanation does not pass with a part of the political class including the Minister of Justice who judged that “the fight against recidivism goes through reintegration but certainly not through karting!”
“Kohlanness” in Fresnes prison, what is it?
“Kohlanness” is a well-known concept at the origin of several events in the Parisian suburbs: competitions and activities between young people from housing estates and police officers to recreate the link. But this is the first time that Djibril Dramé and Enzo Angelosanto, organizer and producer of the events, have imported their program into a prison establishment to act for the “integration of prisoners”. Both explain that the relief of the prisoners’ daily lives and the work for the reintegration of prisoners motivated the organization of Kohlanness in Fresnes. “All the people who are there are there for a good reason and the road to reintegration is through work in prison, but we have a duty: not to put them aside and not to forget that they are humans like you” , recalls the host in the introduction of the show published on Youtube. Enzo Angelosanto exposed another objective of their show on BFM TV : “The goal is to bring young people to prison to make them aware of what incarceration is”.
Three teams competed during the Kohlanness at Fresnes prison: one made up of inmates imprisoned for “short sentences” as specified in the video, another bringing together prison officers and a third team representing young people from the suburbs. All competed in a series of four events including a karting, passage of the show which concentrates the critics. They each represent a charity.
Why is the organization of karting at Fresnes prison controversial?
The recreational event organized at the prison of Fresnes has concentrated criticism of right-wing policies since August 19 and the remarks are aimed more particularly at karting. “Our prisons are not summer camps in which detainees and guards weave bonds of friendship”, protested LR deputy Eric Ciotti while others recalled that prisons are places of “deprivation of freedoms” where karting has no place. Far-right figures criticized the event, assuring that the show was financed by taxes such as the vice-president of the RN in the National Assembly, Hélène Laporte. The general secretary of the Force Ouvrière (FO) national penitentiary union, Emmanuel Baudin, also did not appreciate the organization and financing of such an event: “We spent so much money for two prisoners in a prison which has more than 1,000 inmates. It is one of the most dilapidated prisons in France, I think there was something else to do”. A remark that can be heard but cannot be used as a criticism, the Kohlanness having been entirely financed by the producers of the show.
Cédric Boyer, FO Justice manager at Fresnes prison questioned the usefulness of the event for the reintegration of prisoners. According to him, reintegration involves vocational training, work, school and compensation for victims, but not pure entertainment.
Who are the inmates of Fresnes who participated in the event?
The participation of inmates in the entertainment event arouses criticism but it was essential according to the producers who wanted to “sensitize” young people to life in prison and on occasion lighten daily life in prison in addition to working for reintegration. . The producers did not communicate on the number of prisoners who took part in the filming – we only know that only two prisoners were able to go kart – but they specified that all were imprisoned for short sentences.
A member of the production team insisted and assured that “none of those who participated is a murderer or a rapist. They are there for small sentences. They have been handpicked by the administration of the prison.” The man added that all of the participating inmates “are on a reintegration journey, taking courses, having a job, etc.” During the filming, the exchanges with the detainees went without a hitch and a prison supervisor declared in the video that “the detainees played the game, were respectful”.
Who financed the organization of “Kohlanness” in Fresnes?
The financing of the organization of the Kohlanness at the Fresnes prison is another question on which tempers have heated. The extreme right first affirmed and accused Eric Dupond-Moretti of having organized the event with taxpayers’ taxes, like Damien Rieu, vice-president of the Zemmourist party Reconquête! Accusations taken up in unison by far-right elected officials such as MP Hélène Laporte. The ministry denied having financed the event and assured France info that the entire financing was the responsibility of the production of Kohlanness: “There was no financing of the activities on the part of the prison”. The producers of the show confirm to be autonomous to finance the episodes of Kohlanness. One of them, who wishes to remain anonymous, said “that these are subsidies granted to the association or sponsors who have made it possible to pay for the organization of Kohlanness.
There remains the question of the money donated to the charities represented by each team. In this case, it is the prison of Fresnes which paid 2,700 euros to the associations. An action welcomed by the director of the penal establishment Jimmy Delliste. 1,700 euros were donated to the Arc-en-ciel association, which makes the dreams of sick children come true and defended by the team of guards, 650 euros went to the Relais Enfants-Parents, a cause supported by the prisoners and which allows preserve the link between incarcerated parents and their children and finally 350 euros were donated to the Unitess association. “The money donated by the prison went directly to associations,” confirms one of the organizers.