New record for the number of detainees in France. With a total of 73,699 people incarcerated on June 1 against 73,162 the previous month, French prisons have never been so full, according to official data from the Ministry of Justice published on Friday. This is the fifth record in a few months, after the unprecedented peaks already reached on May 1 and April 1, 2023, as well as December 1 and November 1, 2022.
Chronic prison overcrowding, which continues to worsen, led to France being condemned in January 2020 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). With 60,562 operational places in prisons on June 1, the overall prison density now stands at 121.7% compared to 118.1% a year ago.
More than 200% occupancy rate in ten establishments
The occupancy rate is 144.6% in remand prisons, where prisoners awaiting trial, and therefore presumed innocent, and those sentenced to short sentences are imprisoned. It even reaches or exceeds 200% in ten establishments, including 297.4% in Majicavo (Mayotte), 226% in Nîmes, 211.5% in Rochefort (Charente-Maritime), 206.9% in Bordeaux-Gradignan and even 205.6% in Perpignan.
More than 16,000 prisoners are currently in excess of the places available in French prisons. Due to this overcrowding, 2,336 detainees are forced to sleep on a mattress on the floor. They were 1,885 on June 1, 2022. Among those imprisoned, 19,919 are defendants, imprisoned pending their trial.