France should be “very concerned about its prisons”, says the first president of the Court of Cassation

“He [Robert Badinter] was not looking for a position for the sake of a position, he had a conviction, he wanted to convey ideas”, for Christophe Soulard, first president of the Court of Cassation. He recalls that Robert Badinter “was not only the minister for the abolition of the death penalty. We must never forget that considerable reforms have been adopteds when he was minister. Reforms on the exceptional courts which he abolished, but also reforms tending to facilitate victims’ complaints and to favor compensation for victims.” For Christophe Soulard, the man “obviously has its place in the Pantheon”. He greets his “courage” to announce the abolition of the death penalty “knowing that a majority of French people were against”.

Prison overcrowding

Christophe Soulard also warned about the conditions of detention in France: “Dn the current situation of French prisons, it is difficult [pour un détenu] to become better. You have to imagine that a French prison today is an overcrowded cell with people who have mattresses on the floor because we don’t have enough beds, who can only go out for an hour in the day, who can take a shower from time to time.” According to him, “France must be very concerned about its prisons. Many have said it, not only Robert Badinter, the European Court of Human Rights has also said it”he recalls.