On 11 December, the prison density at Bordeaux-Gradignan reached 211%. This is one of the highest prison densities in France. A parliamentary visit carried out at that date noted around one hundred triple-occupancy cells. A suspension of admissions for one month, in May, did not resolve the situation. At present, 644 men live in spaces meant for 305, and 49 women in spaces meant for 22.

At Sarreguemines Prison, half of the prisoners have personal space measuring less than three square metres.

As of April, the Vesoul prison held 73 prisoners despite a capacity of 40.

Gradignan prison is suspending admissions in May as part of the “stop incarceration” initiative. This measure is expected to last for a minimum of one month, addressing the issue of severe overcrowding.

The facility is currently holding twice the number of prisoners than its intended capacity. Prison conditions are deemed deplorable: mould, mattresses on the floor, and cramped spaces. There are few activities available for prisoners to engage in outside their cells. The undermanned staff feel overburdened. The trafficking of drugs and medicines is reportedly widespread.

Several prisons – 48 in total – have occupancy rates of over 150%. Some facilities have exceeded 200%, including Nîmes (212%), Bordeaux-Gradignan (211%) and Carcassonne (214%). This overpopulation is considered “chronic”.

The Périgueux prison has reached record levels of overcrowding. The facility has a capacity of 99 and is currently holding 165 prisoners. A union for guards (Force ouvrière) predicts a “catastrophe” if the situation does not change.

Four men share a 9-square-meter cell in the Camp Est facility (Nouméa, New Caledonia). The facility holds 610 prisoners, despite having a capacity of 410. Overcrowding results in tension and a lack of privacy. One prisoner says, “It’s hot, there’s dust in the cells. Some people blow a fuse, some break things. Some people can’t sleep. Then they have to take pills, they’re not well.” The presence of rats and cockroaches has been reported, the toilets leak, the heat is sometimes intense, and the electrical grid is faulty.

Camp Est’s state of disrepair had already been pointed out in both 2011 and 2019 by the Controller-General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty. In 2020, the administrative court had ordered the prison service to “put an end to the various health violations in the detention centre units for men, particularly in the ‘shipping container’ cells”. The juvenile unit has been renovated, but the measures are considered insufficient. In 2020, the French branch of the International Prison Observatory described the measures as being similar to putting “a bandage on a dilapidated and unsanitary building” and said that the proper solution would be to “demolish Camp Est and rebuild it”.

The French government is preparing to invest 4.4 billion euros by 2027 to complete construction and renovation work on prison buildings. The administration’s budget has increased by 251% over 21 years. The primary expense has been the expansion of the prison estate.

A parliamentary report dated 25 May casts doubts on the government’s pledges to increase the prison capacity. Patrick Hetzel, the National Assembly’s special rapporteur for the Justice Ministry’s budget, argues that the construction plan for 15,000 places is “already insufficient”. Outlined in two stages (7,000 places in 2022, and another 8,000 in 2027), the project is lagging: by the end of 2022, only 2,441 places were available. Hetzel identifies “management” issues as the cause of these setbacks. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice emphasises the challenges in securing land for new prisons and rejects any claims of administrative problems. It insists that the deadline will be met.

The generation of 15,000 prison spots is scheduled for 2027. The 24,000 spots created between 1990 and 2022 have not reduced prison overcrowding. The business magazine Challenges questioned the government’s policy, reminding readers that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has recommended against this approach since 2021: “increasing capacities is far from being a sustainable solution to the problem of prison overcrowding”.