71.678.

This is the number of detainees in France on June 1, for 60,703 operational places in prison.

That is a prison density of 118.1%, a figure that continues to grow.

As of May 1, the number of detainees stood at 71,038.

The symbolic threshold of 70,000 detainees had been crossed on March 1, for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Over one year, there were 5,087 more prisoners, representing a growth of 7.6% in the prison population.

According to statistical data from the Ministry of Justice, 14,418 detainees are currently in excess of the places available in penitentiary establishments.

The prison density climbs to 140% in remand centers where prisoners awaiting trial – presumed innocent – ​​and those sentenced to short sentences are imprisoned.

Forty-four French prisons have a density greater than or equal to 150% and less than 200%.

In five establishments, the prison density exceeds 200%.

Nearly 2,000 detainees sleep on the ground

Due to this overcrowding, 1,885 prisoners are forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor.

They were 908 in this case on June 1, 2021. Among the detainees, 19,054 are defendants, imprisoned pending their trial.

In total, 87,650 people were placed in prison on June 1, including 15,972 non-detainees subject to placement under an electronic bracelet (15,246) or outside (726).

The number of women imprisoned (3.6% of the total prison population) and that of minors (0.8%) are stable compared to May 1 and down slightly over one year.

The International Prison Observatory (OIP) and Amnesty International recently called on France to make its prisons dignified by urgently implementing a national action plan against prison overcrowding, which is reaching record levels.

Two years after the condemnation of France by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for its unworthy conditions of detention and chronic overcrowding, the OIP was alarmed at "the ineffectiveness of the measures taken by the powers public” to put themselves “in conformity” with this decision.

Company

Missing prisons: The Mazas cell prison, a prison "model" that has survived the centuries

Company

Prisons: The number of detainees stable on May 1 after several months of increase

  • Company

  • Jail

  • Prisoners

  • Electronic bracelet

  • Justice

  • Inmates