The Controller-General for Places of Deprivation of Liberty called for  new measures to reduce prison overcrowding in order to stop the coronavirus from spreading within prisons, such as “the ones successfully implemented in the spring”. An open letter was sent to the Ministry of Justice about this, explaining: “the directives that were sent to the jurisdictions were (…) obviously not followed”.

The prison population had been on the rise after a number of early release measures intended to help dealing with the spread of coronavirus. In February, there were reportedly 4,000 more inmates than six months before.

Between January and April 2021, the number of imprisoned people increased by 3.9% . This trend is consistent with the 4.1% increase reported between October 2020 and January 2021.

On 1 April 2021, the average occupation rate was 107%. Some 830 prisoners have been sleeping on floor mattresses, but this varies significantly by region. The most overcrowded prisons are in Toulouse (130%) and Paris (118%).

Tarbes prison is the most overcrowded in the country, with an occupation level of 192,6%. The authorities described this as “quite a new, situational phenomenon, almost entirely due to sanitary constraints (COVID-19), when a unit was assigned for new arrivals and prisoners returning from temporary leaves, who were quarantined there”. 14 prisoners were forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor.

Justice courts resumed their activities, resulting in a rise in the number of imprisonment measures, especially in remand detention facilities. More than 60 prisons or wards were overcrowded by 120%, with nearly 20 at 150%.

Remand centres reported the most overcrowding, with an average rate of 125.4%.

Government representatives decided in favour of a text responding to the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) condemnation of France in January 2020. The bill “meant to guarantee respect and dignity while in prison” introduced the recourse to a judge for anyone in prison, whether convicted or on remand, in order to put an end to undignified prison conditions. If it is a well-founded request, the judge can then order prison authorities to resolve the situation within one month, by any means possible, including a change of facilities. The Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, applauded the “clear, readable and effective provisions” which “respond to the need for humanity and dignity which must accompany all deprivation of liberty measures”. The law is not expected to be a tool for regulating the prison population. Some say it does not go far enough and emphasise the “structural” overcrowding as pointed out by the ECHR. One member of the Union des démocrates et indépendants (UDi) party criticised the bill as relying basically on transfers: “How is going from one overcrowded prison to another overcrowded prison an improvement?”

In 2017, early in his term as President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron announced a programme to expand the country’s prison estate and to build 15,000 additional places over 10 years. Seven thousand places are expected for the end of 2022. The remaining places should be available by 2027.
The programme provides for the construction of new types of correctional facilities:

• Support programmes for the re-integration of offenders (les structures d’accompagnement vers la sortie, or SAS) with 2,000 places. They are expected to admit offenders with sentences under one year and those who are nearing the end of their long sentences.

• Two experimental prisons that will partner with prison companies to develop an employment programme that will enable prisoners to continue working after their release.