the French prison universe scrutinized in a remarkable documentary series

Far from the clichés, this documentary series produced by Charlotte Lavocat draws up an inventory of French prisons through the testimony of male and female prisoners, guards, doctors, heads of associations. Posted in different places in the prison world, the camera, always at a good distance, takes us behind walls and closed doors, asking us about a system that is seized up in many respects. Jail[s] can be seen on francetv slash until January 2025.

JAIL[S] Trailer from Fingerprint on Vimeo.

The series opens at the gates of the penitentiary center of Varennes-le-Grand (Saône-et-Loire), “newcomer district”, of which “the mission is to limit the prison shock”. In the corridors, the din of the doors being opened and closed, the banging of the keys, the outbursts of voices echoing in the corridors… Entering prison is never trivial. Arnaud and Hervé, two supervisors, watch over newcomers like milk on the fire, with the means at hand. “There are still arrivals planned, we are going to put mattresses on the floor”, blows Arnaud. The unit suffers like many establishments from overcrowding.

As a common thread, as in each of the episodes, a testimony, the one to begin with from Djimé, 29, who says he is “fallen into custody” very early, then having spent there “50 percent of his life”convinced that prison is useless. “They say it makes you think, but I think it’s useless at all, it only hurts, it can kill a man”. The word as witness relay, we hear at the end of the first episode the first words of the testimony of Jul, 24 years old, a first stay in detention at the age of fifteen.

Jul will be the witness of the second episode of the series, devoted to the incarceration of minors. Jul says he has never spent an entire year out of prison since he was fifteen, “a vicious circle”, adds the young man. We will then hear the testimony of Aurélie, which punctuates the third episode, devoted to the life of prisoners in the women’s ward at the Bapaume detention center (Pas-de-Calais).

They regret that the conditions of detention of women are often harsher than those of men. Yet the atmosphere that emanates from their daily life seems softened by the bonds woven in prison, shared moments, mutual listening and a solidarity that seems absent from the men’s quarters.

We will also hear Cyril, fallen because of his addiction to alcohol, powerless to calm his anxieties. With him we discover the daily life of a UHSA (specially equipped hospital unit), the one directed by Doctor Luc, psychiatrist at the penitentiary center of Aix Luynes. We learn that eight male and seven female prisoners out of ten suffer from a mental disorder. Prison is not suitable, but the number of psychiatric beds has been divided by five in forty years, and very often people with mental disorders end up in prison, a place that is totally unsuitable for these populations.

“Crazy people are not suited to live in a violent environment, and they should be hospitalized”, underlines Dominique Simonnot, general controller of the places of deprivation of freedoms. One of the prisoners confirms: “The only place I don’t feel bad is here, with you”he confides to the doctors of the health unit where he receives care.

We will finally hear Vincent, who escaped prison by serving community sentences, or this other prisoner, who prefers the electronic bracelet “even if you have to keep it for ten years”, rather than having to go back to prison. This last episode addresses the question of alternatives to prison, and their virtues. “If I had been in detention, I probably wouldn’t be here today”says Vincent, “It would surely have served me well, whereas thanks to community service, I was able to build a professional project”he concludes.

This remarkable series, with its neat and sober production, never yields to the temptation of spectacle or voyeurism. Without commentary, the documentary distils general information in the form of texts displayed on the screen. Just enough to contextualize, give meaning to testimonies and put into perspective. Behind the acronyms, this series reveals a fragile humanity, which prison locks up in an often futile gear. Beyond the words, the camera captures in tight shots the marks of the bodies, in the movement of a hand the nervousness, the emotion, in the eyes the sadness or the boredom.

Breaking down preconceived ideas and clichés about prison, the director offers a sharp look at a prison reality paved with unacceptable, even inhuman situations.

France has in fact been condemned 17 times by the European Court of Human Rights for detention conditions that violate article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. These convictions relate to the material conditions to which the detainees are subjected, shortcomings in medical care or failures in taking suicide in prison.

In a judgment of January 30, 2020, the European Court of Human Rights condemned France for inhuman and degrading conditions of detention in six establishments, but it also invited it to take general measures to “resolve permanently” the over population.

The number of detainees passed the 70,000 mark on March 1, a threshold which had not been reached in French prisons since the start of the health crisis two years ago, according to official figures published Thursday, March 31. On March 1, the 188 prison establishments had 70,246 prisoners for 60,619 operational places, i.e. an overall prison density of 115.9% against 105.9% a year ago.

“The mission of prison as defined by law is to punish a person who has committed an offence, and I say the word ‘sanction’, which is not the same as ‘punish’ , which implies suffering. We restrict freedom, we lock the person in a perimeter, but it is not a space of deprivation of rights”

Sylvain Lhuissier, co-creator of ATIGIP (TIG and professional integration agency)

in “Jail[s]

“We got used to situations we should never have gotten used to”concludes Dominique Simonnot.

“Jail[s]”, documentary series to see until January 2025 on francetv slash

Production: Fingerprint, produced by Joachim Landau and Raphaël Rocher
Writing and production: Charlotte Lavocat
Pictures: Victor Bruzzi, Origa Robert, Alison Si Tahar, Clementine Pavan
Assembly : Brice Gauthier, Vincent Eyer
Original music: David Federman & Jim Grandcamp
Duration of each episode: 20 minutes