in some French prisons, inmates forced into system D to keep warm

In some prisons, whether old or more modern, cell temperatures can fall below 15°C. Inmates are forced to light hotplates to keep warm.

The cold spell in recent days in France represents a difficult time for the homeless and poorly housed. It is a very complicated period to live through also for prisoners in certain poorly heated prisons in France. There are sometimes temperatures of 15°C or less. The General Controller of places of deprivation of liberty and the International Prison Observatory (OIP) have proven this by taking unannounced temperature readings.

Leila, this week, called her little brother several times, who is in the Argentan detention center, in Orne in Normandy. Overwhelmed by his story on the line, she prepares him a new package of socks and woolen sweaters. “What he told me is that it’s cold… he’s never seen that! They’re in the same situation, they have to sleep with their belongingsexclaims Leila. And when we explained it to the deputy director and then to a head supervisor, he told me: ‘But no, everything is sorted, the heating is in all the cells’, when that’s not even true”she regrets.

“The temperatures are very low, below 15°C. When it’s nice, it’s already difficult in their situation, but all day in the freezing cold, the brain doesn’t know what to think about. It’s horrible. “

Leila, sister of an inmate

at franceinfo

“Cold hands, cold feet… I know, they did stupid things, I know they are paying, adds Leila, but this is no reason to burden them further or humiliate them. Of course, we think about them, we fear that they will get sick, and unfortunately they catch bronchitis or the flu.”

The Argentan detention center was built in the 1980s. But according to the latest OIP survey, the cold does not only affect the cells of the dilapidated establishments. Even in new generation prisons, worrying temperatures have been noted recently, such as at the Lutterbach penitentiary center, in Alsace, inaugurated two years ago. The fault is the poorly sealed windows that the inmates struggle to seal.

The cold poses “health problems”

It is more generally the D system facing the cold in prison, explains Odile Macchi, head of the investigations department at the OIP: “The use of hotplates as alternative heating is a very common practice, it is one of the most effective ways of warming up the atmosphere a little.”

“At night, people can put the plates on, but they are afraid that it will create a fire, so you have to choose between being hot and the risks that it can pose.”

Odile Macchi, head of the investigations department at the OIP

at franceinfo

“We can sometimes ask for additional blankets but there aren’t necessarily any in stock, so it’s quite random, she laments. This problem of cold reinforces the undignified conditions of detention in many penitentiary establishments. 15°C is very difficult to maintain over time. It prevents you from doing anything other than trying to warm up and it poses health problems.”

Some detainees have also deplored in recent weeks what they described as complete blackouts of heating at night. When questioned, the prison administration denies this and promises that, as soon as a breakdown occurs, technicians are mobilized to limit the nuisance.