Prison overcrowding has broken a new record since on July 1, 74,513 people were detained in French prisons. This is the sixth time since November 2022 that this sad record has been broken. A chronic prison overcrowding which had earned France a new conviction from the European Court of Human Rights on July 6th.
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Month after month, the number of detainees in France continues to increase and incarceration records fall one after the other. They were 72,809 on November 1, 2022, 73,080 on April 1, 73,699 on June 1 and 74,513 on July 1. For the first time, the bar of 74,000 prisoners has therefore been crossed, i.e. 814 more detainees in just one month and nearly 2,500 in the space of a year, according to official figures from the Ministry of Justice published this Monday July 31.
There are now 16,643 people too many in French prisons compared to the number of places available which is currently 60,666. Chronic prison overcrowding which forces 2,478 people to sleep on a mattress on the floor, 600 more than a year ago.
The overall prison density in French prisons now stands at 122.8%, i.e. 4% more than on July 1, 2022. It is worse in remand centers where those who are awaiting trial and are therefore presumed innocent are imprisoned, as well as those who are sentenced to short sentences. There, the occupancy rate is 146.3%. They even exceed 200% in eight establishments – including Nîmes, PerpignanRochefort or even Foix – and up to 278% for Mayotte’s only penitentiary center in Majicavo, i.e. nearly three people for one place.
91,127 people were placed in prison on July 1, a number also on the rise. Among them, there are 16,614 non-detainees subject to placement under electronic bracelets or outside placement. The number of female prisoners (3.7% of the total prison population) increased slightly, while that of minors (0.8%) remained stable.
Read alsoPrison overcrowding, a French scourge
(and with AFP)