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France

Capital city — Paris

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Panorama

Contact with the outside world

Visitation rights

All prisoners have the right to receive visits

yes

All inmates, whether charged or convicted, have the right to have visits with their loved ones. Visits are allowed once a permit has been issued and an appointment has been made by telephone or computer terminal. An application for a visitor’s permit may be refused however, since May 2016, an appeal is possible.

People eligible to visit

anyone

  • Visits became rarer in prison after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Loiret, the Prison Visitors’ Association began to look for some fifteen volunteers to help with the situation.

    i
    26/03/2021
    / France bleu

Prisoners on remand are entitled to three visits per week, and convicted prisoners are allowed one visit a week. Each facility sets its own days and hours. In general, a visit may last between 30 and 45 minutes in remand centres, one hour in prisons and several hours in high-security prisons. Visits can take place in common rooms or individual cubicles.

Prisoners and visitors can meet without physical barriers

yes

Visits in an area with a separation system are the result of a decision by the prison administration. Such visiting rooms separate inmates from visitors by a window pane and a telephone and result from a decision by the prison administration. They may be imposed following a disciplinary sanction or if the prison administration has reason to believe that an incident may occur. This decision must be communicated to the inmate, who may challenge its legitimacy with the help of a lawyer.

  • The administrative judge of Toulouse condemned, on 18 February, the installation of floor-to-ceiling hermetic windows in the visiting rooms at Seysses prison. These were installed to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

    i
    25/02/2021
    / La Dépêche

  • In Isère, the number of parcels thrown out into the prisons increased. The upsurge was likely due to protective screens in the visiting areas that prevented the transfer of items.

    i
    23/03/2021
    / Le Figaro

Prisoners are allowed to receive visits from their children or minor relatives

yes, with special requirements provided

Amenities for children are sometimes provided, such as kids’ corners or games areas. A few institutions provide visiting rooms that are slightly more spacious for inmates with visiting children. Family Visiting Units (Unités de vie familiale, UVF) or family parlours also allow inmates to maintain family bonds.

Conjugal visits are allowed

yes

The prison administration does not use the term “conjugal visit”. Any inmate may access all types of visiting rooms: standard visiting room, “family visiting parlours”, or Family Visit Units (FVU). In reality, few inmates enjoy improved detention conditions guaranteeing intimacy.

The family visiting parlours are closed rooms which preserve confidentiality and privacy. They measure between 12 and 15m². Inmates, be they remand or sentenced, may receive loved ones there for a maximum time of six hours.
FVUs are two- to three-room apartments which allow extended family visits, from 6 to 72 hours. Due to their scarcity, the administration prioritises those with access to FVUs, to the detriment of their effectiveness.

Read the account of Céline H. about a visit inside an FVU: “Intimacy inside four walls”

New FVUs are sometimes not put into use until several months after construction.

Incarcerated persons may apply for family reunification if they are able to justify their request. The request must be addressed to the prison governor and the procedure is lengthy.

Reception facilities for families waiting for visiting hours are set up at the institutions. They are run by organisations and/or private service providers. The relevant organisations specialise in maintaining connections between imprisoned parents and their children. They accompany the children to the visiting rooms when necessary.

Maintaining family ties is often compromised by the inaccessibility of the institutions. The financial cost of travel, the geographical remoteness of some prisons and the lack of public transport are major obstacles. Malfunctions related to visits regularly occur, including computer errors, faulty equipment, transfer of the person.

Correspondence

Prisoners are allowed to exchange mail

yes

Prisoners are permitted to correspond freely by mail. In theory, they are supposed to be given a “correspondence kit” when they arrive in prison consisting of paper, envelopes and a pen. They pay for their own stamps.

Mail exchanged is subject to control

yes

Permitting the exchange of correspondence is the responsibility of the postal clerk, the agent authorised to process it. The mail of an accused person, upon sending or receiving, is read by the investigating judge. The institution may withhold mail in the event of a breach of security. There is little data to indicate how often this occurs.

Prisoners are allowed to exchange mail in sealed envelopes

yes

Inmates may correspond with certain individuals and authorities by sealed envelope, meaning they are sealed at the time of posting and upon receipt. No disciplinary sanction can limit or suspend this right. Letters addressed to or received by integration and probation officers and registered chaplains are not inspected. Correspondence between an inmate and their lawyer is confidential. This is also the case for administrative and judicial authorities, as listed in the French Code of Criminal Procedure and including the prosecutor, courts, local or national political figures, the Council of Europe, the Controller-General for Places of Deprivation of Liberty (Contrôleur générale des lieux de privation de liberté, CGLPL), the judge responsible for the execution of sentences and the French ombudsman (Défenseur des droits).
Confidential mail is often opened and read.

Prisoners are allowed to receive parcels

no

During the Christmas holiday season, everyone is allowed to receive one package with a maximum weight of five kilogrammes; its content is regulated. In exceptional cases, inmates may receive items sent by post, especially if their family lives abroad. The French Code of Criminal Procedure strictly defines which items are allowed. The parcel must be approved by the correctional facility’s management and, for untried inmates, the examining judge of the case.

E-mail exchange is possible

no

Phone calls

Prisoners are allowed to make external phone calls

yes

Prisoners are allowed to make a limited number of telephone calls to a restricted list of numbers approved in advance by the administration (20 in remand prisons, 40 in prisons). They are not permitted to receive telephone calls. The SPIP can be called in the event of a serious family problem.

Prisoners are allowed to call

anyone

By law, sentenced inmates have the possibility of calling members of their family. Remand prisoners must receive prior authorisation from the examining judge of their case. Permission to call non-family members is subject to approval and must aim to “prepare for reintegration” (e.g. potential employers, prison visitors, or representatives of housing organisations).

The phones are located

  • in the cells
  • in the yard
  • in the corridors

The telephone boxes (also called “phone points”) located in the exercise yards or walkways are not available for use outside of business hours. Some cells are starting to be equipped with telephones. Privacy is almost never guaranteed.

The cost of phone calls is in line with market prices

no

High call charges are another barrier, especially for calls to overseas territories and to foreign countries.

Phones calls are wire tapped

yes

Conversations may be listened to, however conversations with the following parties are confidential: Human Rights Advocate, Controller- General for Places of Deprivation of Liberty, lawyer, humanitarian phone numbers (CASP/ARAPEJ information number, Red Cross inmate support line…). Telephone calls may be listened to in real time or after the fact. Conversations held in a foreign language may be translated for monitoring purposes. In practice, certain inmates are systematically monitored (for example, those belonging to a terrorist movement or organised crime, or high-profile inmates).

The use of cell phones is authorised

no

Mobile phones, despite being strictly forbidden, are part of everyday prison life. They are the cause of many disciplinary sanctions.