This is the fifth record in a few months for French prisons. France had been condemned in 2023 by the European Court of Human Rights for this situation.
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A new historical record. The number of detainees in France reached the total of 73,699 people incarcerated on June 1, against 73,162 the previous month, according to official data from the Ministry of Justice published on Friday June 30. This is the fifth record in a few months, after the unprecedented peaks already reached on May 1 and April 1, 2023, as well as December 1 and November 1, 2022.
The chronic prison overcrowding, which continues to worsen, had led France to be condemned in January 2020 by the European Court of Human Rights. With 60,562 operational places in prisons on June 1, the overall prison density now stands at 121.7% compared to 118.1% a year ago.
Up to 297% occupancy rate
The occupancy rate is 144.6% in remand centers, where prisoners awaiting trial, and therefore presumed innocent, and those sentenced to short sentences are imprisoned. It even reaches or exceeds 200% in ten establishments, including 297.4% in Majicavo (Mayotte), 226% in Nîmes, 211.5% in Rochefort (Charente-Maritime), 206.9% in Bordeaux-Gradignan and even 205.6% in Perpignan.
Due to overcrowding, 2,336 detainees are forced to sleep on a mattress on the floor. They were 1,885 on June 1, 2022. Among those imprisoned, 19,919 are defendants awaiting trial.