France's prison population reaches record high, overcrowding crisis deepens
PARIS, May 31 — France's prison population hit a record high on May 1, with 83,681 inmates held in facilities that have a capacity of just 62,570, justice ministry data showed today.
Over the past year, France's prison population grew by 6,000 inmates, taking the occupancy rate to 133.7 per cent.
The record overcrowding has even seen 23 out of France's 186 detention facilities operating at more than twice their capacity.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who has called the overcrowding crisis "unacceptable", has suggested building new facilities to accommodate the growing prison population.
The hardline minister announced in mid-May a plan to build a high-security prison in French Guiana -- an overseas territory situated north of Brazil -- for the most "dangerous" criminals, including drug kingpins.
Prison overcrowding is "bad for absolutely everyone," said Darmanin in late April, citing the "appalling conditions" for prisoners and "the insecurity and violence" faced by prison officers.
A series of coordinated attacks on French prisons in April saw assailants torching cars, spraying the entrance of one prison with automatic gunfire, and leaving mysterious inscriptions.
The assaults embarrassed the right-leaning government, whose tough-talking ministers -- Darmanin and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau -- have vowed to step up the fight against narcotics.
And in late April, lawmakers approved a major new bill to combat drug-related crime, with some of France's most dangerous drug traffickers facing detention in high-security prison units in the coming months.
France ranks among the worst countries in Europe for prison overcrowding, placing third behind Cyprus and Romania, according to a Council of Europe study published in June 2024. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Hip-hop trio Kneecap to play Glastonbury despite calls for ban
GLASTONBURY, June 28 — Irish hip-hop group Kneecap will perform at Glastonbury Festival today despite criticism by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and pressure from some in the music industry to pull the gig. Frontman Liam O'Hanna, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He was mobbed by supporters chanting 'Free Palestine' and 'Free Mo Chara' when he appeared at court in London. He was released on unconditional bail until another hearing in August. Footage has also emerged of the band saying on stage: 'Kill your local MP' and 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory.' They have apologised for the comments about killing an MP. Starmer told the Sun newspaper earlier in June it was 'not appropriate' for Kneecap, who rap in Irish and English, to appear at Glastonbury. Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has also commented, saying the BBC, which broadcasts the festival, should not show them. Some 30 music industry bosses asked organisers to pull Kneecap from the line-up, according to a letter leaked by the DJ Toddla T, cited by the Guardian. In response, more than 100 musicians have signed a public letter in support of the group. Kneecap's manager Dan Lambert said the group had expected calls for the group's performance to be cancelled. 'We knew that the biggest pressure would come on Glastonbury because Glastonbury's an institution,' he told Reuters. But it had not been an issue for organisers. 'We didn't bring it up and they didn't bring it up,' he said on site at Worthy Farm. 'They treated us professionally.' Revellers attend the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset June 26, 2025. — Reuters pic Organiser Emily Eavis said on Wednesday the festival was a platform for artists from all over the world, adding that 'everyone is welcome here'. The footage of O'Hanna displaying the flag came to light after the Northern Irish trio projected pro-Palestinian messages on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in April, ending with: 'F*** Israel. Free Palestine.' Kneecap, whose other members have the stage names Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, have said they do not support Hamas or Hezbollah. O'Hanna said yesterday the group were 'playing characters' on stage, and it was up to the audience to interpret their messages. 'Take what you want from it, but we're not going to change in that way,' he told the Guardian newspaper. — Reuters
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
Following Nato summit, Trump and Europe still at odds over Putin's ambitions
THE HAGUE, June 27 — For US President Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin is a man looking for an off-ramp to his bloody three-year assault on Ukraine. But according to Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, the Russian leader may be just getting started. If the alliance does not invest in its defence capabilities, Rutte warned the annual Nato summit on Tuesday, Russia could attack an alliance country within three years. By most measures, this year's Nato summit in The Hague was a success. Member states largely agreed to a US demand to boost defence spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product. Trump, who once derided the alliance as a 'rip-off,' said his view had changed, while a budding bromance blossomed between him and Rutte, who compared the US president to a stern 'daddy' managing his geopolitical underlings. But the summit, which ended on Wednesday, also highlighted the widening gap between how the US and Europe see the military ambitions of Russia, the bloc's main foil. That is despite some lawmakers in Trump's own Republican Party hardening their rhetoric in recent weeks, arguing that while the president's ambition to negotiate an end to Russia's war in Ukraine is laudable, it is now clear that Putin is not serious about coming to the table. In a Wednesday press conference, Trump conceded that it was 'possible' Putin had territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine. But he insisted that the Russian leader — buffeted by manpower and materiel losses — wanted the war to end quickly. 'I know one thing: He'd like to settle,' Trump said. 'He'd like to get out of this thing. It's a mess for him.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Trump's view in a sideline interview with Politico, saying the US was holding off on expanding its sanctions against Moscow, in part to keep talks going. 'If we did what everybody here wants us to do — and that is come in and crush them with more sanctions — we probably lose our ability to talk to them about the ceasefire,' he said. The message from others at the summit was starkly different. A senior Nato official told reporters in a Tuesday briefing that Putin was not in fact interested in a ceasefire — or in engaging in good-faith talks at all. 'Regardless of battlefield dynamics, we continue to doubt that Russia has any interest in meaningful negotiations,' the official said. Russia's ambitions, the senior official said, go beyond control of 'certain territories at their administrative lines,' as Rubio put it. Putin is instead bent on imposing his 'political will' on neighbouring states. Rutte put the Russian threat in existential terms. 'If we do not invest now,' he said on Tuesday, 'we are really at risk that the Russians might try something against Nato territory in three, five or seven years.' Russia strategy remains elusive The US is not the only Nato member with a more optimistic view of Russia. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a longtime Trump ally and critic of European institutions, said Russia was 'not strong enough to represent a real threat to Nato.' Still, as the alliance's largest contributor and most powerful member, Washington's position is a central preoccupation in most Nato capitals. The White House, asked for comment, referred to Trump's comments at the Wednesday press conference. In response to a request for comment, a separate Nato official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, disputed that there were differing assessments within the alliance, pointing to a Nato declaration on Wednesday which referenced the 'long-term threat posed by Russia.' The Russian embassy in Washington referred to Thursday comments by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who criticised Nato for wasting money on defence. 'It seems that only by invoking the fabricated 'Russian threat' will it be possible to explain to ordinary people why their pockets are being emptied once again,' she said. The US State Department and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. The lack of a common understanding about Putin's goals will complicate future diplomatic plans to wind down the war, said Philippe Dickinson, the deputy director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council and a former British diplomat. 'To reach a peace agreement, it's not just something that Trump and Putin can agree themselves,' Dickinson said. 'There does need to be European involvement. That needs to mean that there is some sort of sharing of views among allies on what Putin is trying to achieve.' European leaders likely have not given up on trying to change Trump's views on Russia, Dickinson said. But they were always unlikely bring up thorny conversations at the Nato summit. The alliance's main goal was to simply get through it without major blowups, he said, an aim that was accomplished. Still, peace came at a cost - the lack of substantive discussion around Ukraine and Russia, he argued, was conspicuous. 'The lack of a Russia strategy is a real glaring omission from what the summit could have produced,' Dickinson said. — Reuters
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
Two charged with murder after deadly wedding shooting in southern France, bride killed and groom wounded
MARSEILLE, June 27 — Two men have been charged with murder as part of a criminal gang after a 27-year-old bride was shot dead at a wedding party in southeastern France, prosecutors said. Gunmen opened fire last Sunday at a wedding celebration in Goult, a hilltop village overlooking lavender fields, in what sources said might have been drug-related score settling. Four masked men shot at several guests, including the newlyweds and the bride's 13-year-old nephew, in a car park outside the village hall, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said late Thursday. 'The assailants opened fire, fatally wounding the bride, who was hit several times near the carotid artery,' Bessone said. 'The shots also hit the groom, who had several wounds in the upper body,' he said, adding that the boy had a lung injury and was initially in critical condition. The groom's sister was also hit in the shoulder. One of the attackers was killed. He was 'shot in the back and head' and also 'hit by a vehicle during the attack,' said the prosecutor. His three accomplices fled on foot. Two of them were detained in a nearby town several hours later and the fourth is on the run. After 96 hours in police custody, the two suspects appeared before a magistrate on Thursday and charged with murder and attempted murder as part of an organised gang. They have been remanded in custody. The Marseille public prosecutor did not specify their motives. But a source close to the case said the 25-year-old groom was known to police for drug and organised crime offences. The violence might be linked to possible drug-related score-settling, said another source. — AFP
