While the number of detainees in France is approaching its absolute record with 72,350 people incarcerated
on October 1, at the Croisettes remand center in Coulaines, near Le Mans (Sarthe), the situation is critical. According to official figures
published on the website of the Ministry of Justice, on 1 October the establishment had 620 detainees for 399 places, an occupancy rate of over 155%. “In reality, we are at 168% on October 31 if we only consider the remand center and not the other sectors such as the semi-freedom district“, assures Vincent Le Dimeet, of the Snepap-FSU prison union, “that is 576 detainees for 359 places“. Figures never seen since the opening of the prison in 2010.
More than a hundred mattresses on the floor
According to Vincent Le Dimeet, Le Mans is even “the most overcrowded remand center in the West__, more than Nantes, Rennes or Le Havre“. For the union representative, the only way to reduce the pressure would be to transfer certain Sarthois prisoners to these other establishments.”In Le Mans, we also have detainees sentenced to terms of more than two years whose place is not in a remand center. But we are refused transfers to the Argentan detention center to place detainees from Paris there.“.
This overcrowding of the Croisettes remand center results in placing “until four people in one cell__. Currently, we have more than a hundred mattresses on the floor. The texts are not respected, defendants find themselves mixed with convicted persons, it becomes unmanageable for everyone“.
The opening of the new building postponed
The opening of the future exit support structure (SAS), which will have 90 places, is postponed to April 2023 for the “handover of the keys” and September 2023 for the reception of prisoners. The construction site of this new building located outside the main enclosure has been delayed. “We will be vigilant“, warns the Sarthe trade unionist. “The SAS should not become a means of artificially reducing overcrowding in the prison. This structure is for people with a particular profile__, which can fit into a specific course“.