"Koh Lantess": Éric Dupond-Moretti will set conditions for "reintegration projects in prison"

Europe 1 with AFP 10:50 p.m., August 23, 2022, modified at 10:52 p.m., August 23, 2022

The Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti announced on Tuesday evening on Twitter the publication of a circular to set "the conditions necessary for carrying out reintegration projects in prison", now "subject to the express validation of the management of the prison. 'penitentiary Administration".

Éric Dupond-Moretti spoke after the publication of an administrative investigation report on the organization - highly contested on social networks since Friday - of fun activities called "Koh Lantess", organized at the end of July in a courtyard of the Fresnes prison establishment (Val-de-Marne).

Following the investigation report, I am going to take out a circular to clearly set out the conditions necessary for the holding of reintegration projects in prison.

From now on, they will all have to be subject to express validation by the management of the prison administration.

https://t.co/OqGMZqGKUz

— Eric Dupond-Moretti (@E_DupondM) August 23, 2022

A circular to fix reintegration projects

Three teams - of prisoners, guards and residents of the city - had faced each other in events, karting, mime or even tug of war over a swimming pool.

"If I had known that a karting competition was organized, I would have put a very clear veto (...). I was never informed" of this, first declared the Minister of Justice to the press on Tuesday afternoon.

Then he tweeted in the evening: "Following the investigation report, I will take out a circular to clearly set out the conditions necessary for carrying out reintegration projects in prison. They will now all have to be subject to the express validation of management of the prison administration.

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 "Koh Lantess" in Fresnes: what the administrative report says about its organization

According to the report made public on Tuesday evening, a copy of which AFP was able to consult, the choice of activities was managed "in direct connection between the organizing association and the penitentiary establishment" and "nor the management of the prison administration, nor the cabinet of the Keeper of the Seals had knowledge of the precise modalities of the activity 'Koh Lantess'".

"If an authorization in principle from the Chancellery has been given with regard to this action, it is without knowing the precise details, in particular with regard to the karting event", adds the report.

A project not funded by the prison

However, "the primary desire of the director of Fresnes, who admits having made an error of assessment, was to carry out a charitable operation based on the effort and the values ​​of sport", underlines the summary of the administrative investigation, which recalls that "socio-cultural and sporting activities are essential in prison".

A video of the event broadcast in particular on YouTube on Friday, and since withdrawn, had swelled a very lively controversy, coming in particular from the far right and the right.

The report also establishes that "the 'Koh Lantess' activity was absolutely not financed by the prison administration" and had a "purely charitable" purpose, and that 2,700 euros were donated by the prison establishment to three associations.