The prison population at its highest. As of December 1, the number of inmates in France has reached a historic level: 72,836 people incarcerated. According to statistical data from the Ministry of Justice, November was already a record.
If the French prison establishmentss had 72,836 detainees, they only have a capacity of 60,698 operational places, i.e. a prison overcrowding of 20%, against 15.2% a year ago. Due to this overcrowding, 2,133 people are forced to sleep on mattresses placed on the floor.
More than a quarter of detainees are awaiting trial
French prisons thus have 27 more prisoners than in November, the month during which prison overcrowding had exceeded the previous record recorded in March 2020, on the eve of confinement. Measures then taken by the executive to curb the pandemic in prison had led to a drastic drop in the number of prisoners.
Since then, the statistics have risen regularly until they approach a historic high in October. Over a year in December, there were 2,844 more prisoners, an increase of 4%.
3.6% of prisoners are women and 0.8% minors. More than a quarter of detainees (26.4%) are defendants, that is to say people awaiting trial – and therefore presumed innocent. The prison density in remand centers, where these defendants and those sentenced to short sentences are imprisoned, is 142.8%.