“This controversy serves everyone“, declared Monday August 22 Sébastien Nicolas, secretary general of the SNP-FO direction, majority among the directors of the penitentiary services. He was questioned on the controversy which follows the organization within the prison of Fresnes (Val-de-Marne ) of filmed events inspired by the program “Koh-Lanta” for the benefit of associations, including a karting event. The right and the far right were indignant. The Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond- Moretti, has on his side “ordered an investigation“administrative on the subject.
>> Was the karting race at Fresnes prison financed by the taxpayer, as members of the far right claim?
franceinfo: Is this kind of event frequent?
Sebastian Nicholas: This event in particular is a little out of the ordinary, but similar activities and events in prison are very frequent, for a simple reason, which is that the law requires us to develop a lot of activities in prison, because that reintegration does not pass only through school and work, but also through sporting activities, educational activities, cultural activities, all of which aim at the reintegration of detainees.
Who organizes this kind of project?
In general, it is the directors of establishments and partners who meet on projects. Obviously, the director must do his VRP, in general, when he takes up his duties to get to know the local associative fabric well and find partners to set up this type of activity. Sometimes partners introduce themselves. They can also be reported to us by the penitentiary integration and probation services, National Education or other institutions working around the prison.
Once the partner is found, we ensure its credibility. In this case, the Kohlanness association [organisatrice de ces épreuves] had already worked with the national police, it had worked quite well. Moreover, the purpose of the operation was charitable. You also check whether the activity proposed by the partner corresponds to the objectives you are pursuing: the reintegration of detainees, fundraising for charitable purposes, the promotion of the image of the prison… Then, you check whether the activity is feasible in a prison context. If this is the case, the project is validated by the hierarchy and then the participants are selected. In general, these are inmates who have adopted good behavior, who are not criminal proceedings, who are not warned. It acts as a reward for a public which in general is eligible for leave, for a certain number of facilities because they have made the necessary reintegration efforts in detention.
Can we do without the green light from the prison administration?
It depends on the size of the project. On small projects, it remains at the level of the establishment and the management of the penitentiary integration and probation service. When the projects are larger in scale, validation can be requested from the interregional management.
Do you understand the current controversy?
This controversy serves everyone. You can make images like these say anything and everything, taken out of context, without explanation.
“We are in a charitable logic, it is not done like that, to amuse the detainees. When we broadcast this type of images, we must be able to explain it, and to affirm it, otherwise we can actually cause controversy”
Sébastien Nicolas, secretary general of the SNP-FO managementat franceinfo
At the same time, one can understand, when images like these are not explained, that citizens are shocked, that’s obvious. I remind you that three associations have benefited from the funds raised during this event.