Lyon: Man escapes prison in his cellmate's laundry bag, still at large
The unnamed 20-year-old is believed to have escaped a French prison on Friday, July 11, with prison officers only noticing his absence the following morning.
Sebastien Cauwel, the director of France's prison administration, told local news outlet BFMTV that the prisoner 'took advantage' of his cellmate's release from Corbas Prison in Lyon, France.
One of the escapee's cellmates was being released from prison, and the prisoner concealed himself inside their laundry bag to free himself from confinement.
The man, who is still at large, is serving multiple sentences and is also undergoing investigation for links to organised crime.
'This is an extremely rare event that we have never experienced in this administration and which clearly reveals a whole series of serious dysfunctions,' Mr Cauwel said.
Mr Cauwel has requested an internal investigation and said the 'Minister of Justice has ordered an inspection by the General Inspectorate of Justice'.
He said the Corbas Prison has an occupancy rate of 170 per cent, and said this 'makes working conditions more difficult for our staff'.
BFMTV reported that 1200 people were detained in the prison as of May 2025, which is over 500 people more than its capacity of 678.
The BBC reported that the Lyon Bar Association has expressed alarm about 'overcrowding' in the prison.
This follows reports of another French escapee, Mohamed Amra, known as 'The Fly', which sparked a manhunt before he was recaptured in Romania in February this year.
Amra had been freed in a violent attack which resulted in the deaths of two prison guards.
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Largely cut off from the world, Darmanin argues, they will no longer be able to fuel drug-related violence, which has become a political issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election. "We are here to guarantee that they don't speak to the outside, that they don't continue their trafficking outside, that they don't corrupt prison officers, magistrates, police officers," Darmanin said on primetime evening television after the first 17 inmates were transferred earlier this week to Vendin-le-Vieil from other, less secure facilities. Another 12 were moved in on Thursday. France has had a long history of both notorious prisons (the Bastille) and prisoners — both real (Napoleon) and fictional ("The Count of Monte Cristo"). Still, Vendin-le-Vieil's lock-up conditions are exceptional, similar to the ultra-secure "Supermax" prison in the United States and Italy's tough "carcere duro" incarceration rules for Mafia members. Vendin-le-Vieil already houses some of France's most infamous prisoners — including Salah Abdeslam, lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists that terrorised Paris in 2015, killing 130 people in gun and bomb attacks. To make way for the specially selected 100 inmates — some already convicted, others in pre-trial detention — many other Vendin-le-Vieil inmates were moved out. The newcomers will be grouped in the prison's new "Section for Combatting Organised Crime," with reinforced security and regulations, and equipped with systems to block mobile phone signals and drones. Among those on the list for Vendin-le-Vieil is Mohamed Amra, nicknamed "The Fly," who staged an escape last year that killed two guards and then fled to Romania before he was captured and returned to France. The newcomers will have just one hour a day in a prison exercise yard, in groups of no more than five. 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Darmanin has announced plans for at least two other high-security prison units for convicted and accused drug traffickers, one of them in the overseas territory of French Guiana. Vogelhut accuses Darmanin of angling for votes and playing on: "French people's fears and anxieties". "It won't solve any problems," she said. "There won't be any less crime."
