The Rennaise branch of Genepi, a student association that intervenes in prison, is worried. The Prison Administration Directorate terminated the partnership, which enabled it to intervene with detainees in the penitentiary centers.
Polemic
On October 30, 2018, the Directorate of Prison Administration (DAP) confirmed that the agreement that binds it to the Genepi, a student association that advocates for the decompartmentalization of prisons, ended after 42 years of cooperation. The end, too, of a subsidy of 50 000 €. A blow of club for the some 800 volunteers of the association of the Hexagon. A shot, too, for the fifty young people who live the antenna of Rennes.
The fear of a break
Maud Bahoua and Samuel Delatouche are law school students and members of the Genepi in Rennes. Their fear: not being able to pass the walls of the prison. For years, the association has been entering detention centers to meet with detainees, to create exhibitions or to conduct cultural workshops. The volunteers, however, stopped giving lessons: "We think we do not have the legitimacy, details Maud. The principle is the horizontality of knowledge. "
Each year, the two parties make contact around November to plan interventions for the coming months. In this context, their future in prisons seems "very vague".
If the Genepi also conducts information and awareness campaigns in the public space, such as prevention in schools, intervening behind the walls of the penitentiary centers is necessary for the members of the association. "If we can not go anymore, we are being denied the opportunity to testify. Harvesting testimonies in prison is one of Genepi's missions! And to worry: "In Fresnes, they closed the door to volunteers. Some could not even say goodbye to the detainees. "
Underlying tensions
The penitentiary center for men of Rennes-Vezin and the penitentiary center for women of Rennes note for their part a "disengagement" of the students since a few years. In the women's prison, for the year 2016-2017, the administration notes that the Genepi "did not provide school support" , the primary mission of the association, preferring "recreational activities" . Last year, no intervention was carried out. On the student side, it is said that the small number of interventions comes from "reluctance" and "mistrust" on the part of the administration of the women's prison.
Militant positions also clamor DAP, which deplores the "mode of radical communication" Genepi. A banner displayed during a Paris action in 2018 remained across the throat of the prison staff. His message? "The state is locked up, the prison is murdering. This tension is nonsense for Maud and Samuel, who point out that the association has militancy in its DNA: "Since 1981, we have taken positions that are inspired by the work of Michel Foucault. Our indignation grew with the deterioration of the prisons. "
Towards a local convention?
The penitentiary centers specify, for their part, that in the months to come, "if the students of Genepi wish to intervene on school support, a local convention can be signed".
The young volunteers do not intend to stop there. "We will contact MPs, campaign on social networks, send letters ..." Maud is determined. "We are only at the beginning! "