Tuesday afternoon, at around 3:30 p.m., 84 inmates at the Seysses remand center, near Toulouse, refused to return to their cells. The reason for this discontent is quite unusual. “They were protesting against the cell phone jammers which were triggered on Monday by the management, which is quite improbable, since they are not allowed to have telephones,” explains Jérôme Combelles, departmental head of FO Justice.
It took the intervention of 23 specialized agents from the regional intervention and security team (Eris) for the remand center to regain calm around 5:30 p.m. Some identified leaders ended up in disciplinary quarters. “I hope that management will not give in to their demands. We would be walking on our heads,” slips the trade unionist.
In Seysses, during searches, supervisors found “sometimes two or three telephones per cell”. The devices are often launched by hand above the surrounding wall, but they are also sometimes dropped by drones.