French prisons reach a new record. 72,836 people were incarcerated at 1is December, according to statistical data from the Ministry of Justice, twenty-seven more than in the historic census last November. 3.6% of prisoners are women and 0.8% minors
Over one year, in December, there were 2,844 more prisoners, an increase of 4%. With 60,698 operational places, French prison establishments have an overall prison density of 120%, compared to 115.2% a year ago.
The measures taken by the executive during the March 2020 confinement, imposed by the Covid-19 epidemic, led to a drastic drop in the number of detainees. Since then, the statistics have risen regularly until they approach a historic high in October.
2,133 detainees sleep on mattresses on the floor
According to official data from the ministry, 15,420 detainees are currently in excess of the places available in penitentiary establishments (compared to 12,999 a year ago). Due to this overcrowding, 2,133 people are forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor.
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%.
Fifty-six French prisons have a density greater than 150%. This density exceeds 200% in six establishments, those of Bayonne, Carcassonne, Nîmes, Perpignan, Foix, and Bordeaux-Gradignan.