Radio has been allowed in French prisons since 1975. The concept of the “Sunday Telephone” program began in the United States during the 1980s, when the minority radio station KPFT in Houston offered a program for the families of detainees so they could broadcast messages on air. Daniel Syno, a young man from Lyon, France, imported the idea in December 1983 to Radio Fourvière, now RCF Lyon. The concept has since spread to several other cities.

In Orléans, the RCF Sunday Telephone program is supported by the association “l’Espoir (Hope)”, and celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. In the prison community, the program is known for its enthusiasm. “In the beginning, when phone calls were prohibited in prisons, the switchboard would get up to 70 calls”, says host Chantal Nénert. Then land line telephones came into prisons, but still the calls to the radio program persisted: 40 to 50 of them every Sunday. At this rate, a 90-minute program goes by very quickly.

The little boy who got good marks in school, the grandfather who takes his grandson fishing, the birthday meal – all these are opportunities to make this special phone call. For Chantal, a call aired during the program is very different from a conventional call. Radio enables people to convey a whole array of sounds; “When the windows are open, you can hear the sounds of the city: a fire truck, a dog barking. Sometimes we get calls from a market, where one can hear life going on … even the wind blowing!” she explains.

From one Sunday to the next, there are families who become regulars, like the parents who called every Sunday from Britanny to get a bit closer to their son, who was incarcerated in Orléans. “The father cooked a lot,” Chantal recalls, “and these parents would tell us each week about their bean harvests, what they would cook with them, and so on.”

Then, last year their son was released, and he came on the air. He came to say, “Thank you. If it weren’t for the Sunday Telephone, I would not have lasted three years.” A visit like that is not unusual; this is how the host knows she has listeners. Some call in to give news – it’s the warmth that the program creates, according to Chantal. But her role, and that of the volunteers who work with her, can also be educational. “When a young man starts off with ‘When I go to prison’, we need to explain to him that he will have better things to do.”

Today, cell phones are prohibited in prison, yet the majority of detainees have one. A dozen radio programs like Sunday Telephone still exist in France, and it is because they provide more than just communication. They are important platforms for information and testimonials relating to the world of prison.

Education, information and especially criticism: this is the mission of the program “l’Envolée”, on the radio station Fréquence Paris Plurielle. It was conceived in 2001 by Abdel Hafed Benotman, incarcerated several times for robbery, and refers often to a certain Georges Coustel, who allegedly helped friends escape from prison by helicopter. The tone is set: the hosts speak openly; many of them have served time, and “the listeners know it,” declares Sylvie, on the air for over two years. She has experience with radio in prison, through Radio Papillon in Saint Etienne. A close friend “called during the program and spoke only to me. It felt good,” she admits.

In prison, Sylvie met Sylvia, who is also involved in l’Envolée every Friday from 7 to 8:30 pm. The hosts always find a moment to read the letters they receive: “It’s reassuring to know that one can write in and it will be read on the radio,” says Sylvia. And the words are tough, sometimes unsettling: “A dangerous situation, worse than remand center, makes my daily life unlivable.” “There’s constant tension with the officers, verbal and physical provocation. Some of them stop you from phoning and cut off calls, using false pretexts.” “It feels like we belong to them.” “You have to forget about any idea of hope, justice or fairness”.

These are letters transcribed into l’Envolée’s journal issued several times a year. So for Sylvie and Sylvia, the program is above all a testimonial to the shortcomings of the prison system. “This is how we protect ourselves,” says Sylvia, “we leave a trace, a record.”

This is also the opinion of some of the families of detainees, who make the trip to come to the studio. Leïla, for example, came to talk about her husband’s situation. She is sure that he is a victim of persecution by prison personnel who broke his back by slamming him into the ground. “Where is the humanity in this case?” she asks through the microphone. For Leïla, talking on the radio is a way to protect her husband and speak for all the others. Also, the radio hosts often attend the trials of the people who write to them, and some visit the detainees in prison. “All this forms bonds between us,” affirms Sylvia.

- L’envolée’s podcast, program of 17 July 2017 — In French¶

- L’envolée’s podcast, program of 8 July 2016 — In French¶

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Sometimes there can be a direct connection between the radio and detainees, and the radio comes into the prison. Such is the successful venture of the documentary maker Katia Kovacic. She worked for four years with young people in the l’Etablissement pénitentiaire pour mineurs (Juvenile Detention Center) and the Baumettes prison, both in Marseille.
The idea was to introduce radio participation during school hours, working with educators to produce broadcasts with groups of young people, making this work a solid part of the curriculum. Everybody involved agreed upon the themes: Sound, Adulthood and Time.
The youngsters in the detention center contemplated, interpreted and described their perception of time for the broadcast – a moving, personal tale.

• “Time” Podcast —

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“They adapted to the radio quite easily”, says Katia Kovacic. The fact that they were not on camera reassured them right away.

It wasn’t always easy, but they got into it, thought seriously about it and spoke openly. “When we listened back to it, I got the impression they were proud of what they had done,” she adds.

The youngsters were also able to follow their school curriulum and live out their lives and feelings at the same time. Some worked on the play Antigone, which they were studying in class. In addition, their work in the field of radio brought different soundtracks into the correctional facility, as they listened to broadcasts from other young people’s work.

• “Sound” Podcast (in French)

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Katia concludes by saying, “This back-and-forth of sound is really what we wanted.” Thanks to radio, the words of these incarcerated youngsters went out of prison. And other sounds, other stories, came in.