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France
Capital city — Paris
Country population
i2022Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabit…
i07/2023Type of government
Human Development Index
Homicide rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)
Name of authority in charge of the pris…
Total number of prisoners
i01/01/2023Average length of imprisonment (in mont…
i2021/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Rapport 2021, p. 123.Prison density
i01/01/2023Total number of prison facilities
i2021/ Prison administrationAn NPM has been established
Female prisoners
i01/01/2023Incarcerated minors
i01/01/2023Percentage of untried prisoners
i01/01/2023Death penalty is abolished
yes, since 1981The last executio…
Special populations
Women
Female prisoners
Variation in the number of female prisoners
increase
The number of women in prison increased by 7.88% between January 2021 and January 2022. In January 2021, 2,057 women were in prison.
Percentage of untried female prisoners
Percentage of foreign female prisoners
Different types of penal institutions hold women :
- penal institutions exclusively for women
- units exclusively for women
Most of the women are incarcerated in specific sections of prisons that are mainly for men. There are two exclusively dedicated facilities :
- Rennes Penitentiary Centre
- Versailles remand centre
They are dispersed throughout 59 facilities. The female prisoner population density varies from one facility to another. Overcrowding is a problem in the women’s quarters of some remand prisons.
There is an effective separation between men and women
Untried female prisoners are separated from the convicted
Women who have been charged and those who have been convicted are not detained separately in remand centres.
The prison staff is
mostly female
The guards are female, but management personnel may be male.
Searches are conducted by a female staff member.
The Controller-General for Places of Deprivation of Liberty stated in a notice on 18 February 2016 a very limited choice of feminine hygiene products, in particular tampons or sanitary napkins and intimate wash.
Women have less access to work, education opportunities or other activities.
Pregnant women are housed in specific units or cells
yes
Nursery sections with a few dedicated places are available at approximately thirty facilities.
The legislation provides for a sentence adjustment for pregnant women or women with young children
Ad-hoc arrangements are possible for pregnant women. Detention can be avoided under certain conditions and according to a specific procedure, the suspended sentence. It is possible for individuals to request a suspended sentence for family reasons. The number of women who have benefited from this measure has not been provided.
Pregnant women receive proper prenatal care
All steps must be taken to ensure that pregnant prisoners receive appropriate medical care (compulsory prenatal monitoring, arrangements for prison escorts in the context of medical extractions). Gynecological examinations or deliveries are carried out in the presence of prison staff. This sometimes leads women to forego care.
Childbirth takes place in
outside care facilities
Security staff is prohibited from entering the room during labour and childbirth
The use of instruments of restraint is forbidden during labour and childbirth
Mothers are allowed to keep their children with them
yes, until 18 months of age
This period may be extended in the event of the mother’s imminent release. There are some 60 children born during their mothers’ incarceration every year.
Modern facilities are built with cells designed to house a woman and her child. These cells are equipped with a bathtub and a separate space for the mother and child.
Surveillance staff assigned to sections housing mothers and children are not required to be in civilian clothing.
Minors
The law bans the imprisonment of minors
(the age of majority is 18)
Minimum age of imprisonment for minors
13 years old
Their imprisonment remains exceptional below 16 years old.
Incarcerated minors
Variation in the number of incarcerated minors
decrease
The number of incarcerared minors decreased by 18% between January 2021 and January 2022. In January 2020, there were 752 minors in detention.
Ministry in charge of incarcerated minors
ministry of Justice
Minors are sujected to a specific system. This can be applied beyond the age of majority, up to the age of 21, to ensure continuity of care.1 The new Code of Juvenile Criminal Justice (CJPM) comes into force on 30 September. It replaces the 1945 Ordinance, which was deemed ‘unreadable’ after numerous amendments (around 40). Several major changes should be noted:
- The CJPM provides for a two-stage procedure: a first stage to rule on the minor’s guilt; a second stage to pronounce the sanction. In the period between these two stages, the minor is subject to “educational measures” or “security measures”. The sanction is required to take account of “the evolution of the minor’s behaviour, (…) his or her adherence to the measures and his or her awareness of the facts of which he or she is accused “*. This break between the two stages is not systematic. Some magistrates’ unions consider that this procedure is similar to an immediate appearance for minors.
- The CPJM removes the investigation phase before the juvenile court judge. The aim is to reduce the time taken to bring cases to trial. Judges point to the lack of resources to meet the new deadlines.
- The CPJM introduces, in order to replace multiple measures, a single judicial measure with several components (medical, educational, placement, etc.). This measure can be pronounced for five years.
- The CPJM specifies in its first article that “minors under 13 years of age are presumed not to be capable of discernment”. The country is thus in line with the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. This symbolic clarification can be challenged by a judge. Young people aged 11 or 12 who are deemed capable of discernment are given an educational measure.
Jean-Paul CÉRÉ, “Le système pénitentiaire français”, Centre de Recherche sur la Justice Pénale et Pénitentiaire (CRJ2P/IFTJ), 2023, p. 10 (in French). ↩
Minors are housed in six detention facilities for minors (établissements pénitentiaires pour mineurs (EPM)); the others are dispersed among the 47 juvenile units (quartiers pour mineurs (QM)).
The assignment to either the establishment or a unit depends upon the best interest of the youth, taking into account where they live, educational needs, and proximity to the jurisdiction in charge of the case.
Figures on minors in prison are published
on a regular basis, every three months
Minors in prison are separated from adults
yes
The separation of youth and adult offenders is not always respected. It is applied inconsistently with males and rarely ever for females. Minors aged 13-16 who are awaiting trial are to be held separately from adults.
The law provides for single cell accommodation for minors
yes
Youth are often held in individual cells, but not always, especially in facilities where overpopulation is a problem.
The schooling of minors is compulsory
Schooling is mandatory until age 16, as on the outside.
The law forbids solitary confinement for minors
Youth may be placed in disciplinary cells, as they are subject to the same conditions as adults. Youth over the age of 16 may be placed in solitary confinement.
The detention system in the EPMs is a mixture of repression and education. Group events (cultural and sport activities) are held, and sometimes are deemed to be excessive.
Educators from the Judicial Youth Protection Service work closely with youth in penitentiary establishments for minors and juvenile units. In principle, support staff (surveillance, health) must have special training qualifying them to work with youth. Supervisors assigned to juvenile units have not always completed this training, entitled, “référent mineur”.
Foreign prisoners
Number and percentage of foreign prisoners
Roughly one third of foreign prisoners are held in pre-trial detention.
Variation in the number of foreign prisoners
increase
The number of foreign prisoners increased by 13.74% between January 2021 and 31 December 2021. There were 15,338 foreign nationals in custody in January 2021.
As of 1 January 2021, foreign nationals in prison came from Africa (55.2%), Europe (31.1%), North or South America (7.5%) and Asia (5.6%). 0.5% were from other countries or their nationality was unknown.
Foreign prisoners can be assisted by an interpreter
in some cases
The use of an interpreter, theoretically guaranteed for the duration of the proceedings, including disciplinary proceedings, is insufficient and sometimes non-existent.
In May 2022, the Controller-General of the places of deprivation of liberty (Contrôleure général des lieux de privation de liberté, CGLPL) published a notice in the French government gazette about interpretation services for persons deprived of liberty and how they were understood. The notice talked about “inadequate” translations in prison, which were “done on the fly by agents or other persons deprived of liberty.” The CGLPL noted that this method was helpful in emergency situations, however, “it [could not] guarantee that the interpretation [was] accurate or that the affected person remain[ed] safe.”1
Controller-General of the places of deprivation of liberty (CGLPL), “Avis du 11 février 2022 relatif à l’interprétariat et à la compréhension des personnes privées de liberté”. (in French) ↩
Foreign prisoners are entitled to legal aid
Illegal residency is no longer considered an indictable offence per se, but its consequences may be.
Foreign prisoners are allowed to remain in the country after having served their sentence
under certain circumstances
At the end of their sentence, foreign inmates may be forced to leave French territory if the judge pronounced an additional sentence of a temporary or permanent ban on residence, or if the Ministry of the Interior issued a deportation order.
Foreign prisoners are allowed to work while incarcerated
Foreign inmates may telephone authorised individuals in their country of origin, at their own expense.
Foreign nationals often face discrimination in gaining accessing to work, applying for sentence adjustments and maintaining family ties. They are more vulnerable when they lack proficiency in the French language. All requests must be made in writing and making a doctor’s appointment, for example, can sometimes feel like an impossible task.
Problems arising from the right to residency add to the difficulty of daily life in prison. Incarceration is an obstacle to obtaining legal residence, which is a complex process.
The procedure for applying for a residence permit includes mandatory appointments at the prefecture. To make these appointments, prisoners are required to apply for leave, which is not often granted. Interviews for asylum-seekers can now take place in prisons using audiovisual communication. However, this option presents challenges to confidentiality, building trust, interpreting, etc. People who are subject to an obligation to leave French territory have an appeal period of only 48 hours, despite the complexity of the proceedings.
Long-term prisoners
A long-term sentence is considered as such as of
10 years
The Council of Europe refers to a long sentence as over five years in prison. In France, this expression is used mainly for sentences of 10 years or more.
There are specific prison facilities for long-term prisoners
Six maximum-security prisons and seven maximum-security sections are exclusively dedicated to long sentences. Many people carrying out long sentences serve them in detention centres or in detention centre sections.
Life sentences are banned
People serving a life sentence
Variation in the number of people serving a life sentence
decrease
The number of people serving a life sentence decreased by 2.52% between January 2021 and 31 December 2021. In January 2021, this figure stood at 477.
Life sentences are for the most serious crimes (certain kinds of murders and terrorism).
There are specific prison facilities for life-sentenced prisoners
People sentenced for criminal offences are usually sent to maximum security prisons, facilities where detention is largely based on security.
A person sentenced to life imprisonment automatically has a term of 18 years attached to their sentence. This excludes the possibility of a sentence adjustment during that period. Under certain conditions, the sentence may be reduced or extended to a maximum of 22 years.
In the event of sentencing to a prison term with a period of unconditional imprisonment, automatic sentence reductions may only be applied to the part of the sentence exceeding the minimum period.
Life imprisonment without parole, the most severe criminal sanction in French law, is accompanied by an unlimited period of incarceration.
In practice, the possibility of release does exist for life sentences without parole. Article 720-4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the possibility of re-examination of the case after 30 years of imprisonment. The judge’s decision must be accompanied by the opinion of three medical experts responsible for examining “the danger posed by the convicted person”.
Untried prisoners
Percentage of untried prisoners
Variation in the number of untried prisoners
decrease
The number of people in pre-trial detention decreased by 5.61% between January 2021 and January 2022. In January 2021, there were 17,856 remand prisoners.
Untried prisoners are separated from the convicted
The law mandates the separation of remand prisoners and sentenced prisoners in remand centres, but this separation is not possible due to overpopulation.
The law provides for release on bail for untried prisoners
The measure exists in the context of judicial reviews. The investigating judge or the release and detention judge can require the payment of a monthly sum, but this is not very common. It is primarily applied in financial cases.
Minorities or indigenous people
Data collection about prisoners’ minority or indigenous background is allowed
Minority or indigenous backgrounds are criteria for specific cell or unit assignment
yes
Even though there is no obligation to group foreigners in specific units, the practice of non-institutional and non-generalized “ethnic sorting” persists. It leads to a division within quarters based on nationality or origin, real or supposed, on the sole criteria of a person’s skin colour. Some prisoners request to be with a cellmate with whom they can communicate.
People of certain religious or ethnic groups are not subject to any particular detention regime.
LGBTQI+ people
The prosecution or imprisonment of a person on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity is banned
LGBTQI+ persons are separated from other prisoners
in most cases
Fleury-Mérogis prison has an area reserved exclusively for people who identify as trans. Between 20 and 30 people are usually housed in this area. The ACCEPTESS-T Association provides them with support.
The prison administration assesses the circumstances of LGBTI individuals on a case by case basis and consequently adjusts their daily lives. These individuals are often placed in isolation for their safety. Access to employment and other activities is complicated, even impossible.
Assignment of transgender prisoners to a specific facility depends on
their ID gender
The rules for assigning trans inmates are not always applied. While in prison, LGBTI persons are often victims of homophobic or transphobic acts of violence, including: verbal, physical and sexual assaults
Transgender prisoners are entitled to customised searches
Transgender prisoners benefit from specific health care
no
Access to health care is a major challenge. Trans people do not receive any information on how to obtain medical care specific to their needs.
Elderly prisoners
The prison service keeps a record of elderly prisoners
Number and percentage of elderly prisoners
The number of elderly prisoners increased by 5.44% between January 2021 and 31 December 2021. There were 2,720 in January 2021.
Elderly prisoners are not grouped together in specific facilities or quarters. Facilities are not systematically designed to accommodate them.
When people reach the end of their lives, parole is prioritised. Some elderly people are forced to spend their last days incarcerated, with staff who have neither the training nor the means to support them.
See “Sentence Adjustments” for more information.
The number of older prisoners increased by six times over the last 25 years.
There appears to be a lack of appropriate activities, limited access to work and little medical care. Doctors have also reported problems with procuring medical equipment. Older prisoners find it difficult to receive human assistance and are often forced to get help from other inmates.
Death penalty is abolished
yes, since 1981
The last execution took place on 10 September 1977.