We wish you never see them. Yet, every day, every night, these cramped concrete cells house men and women for the police to listen to. Located on the ground floor of the central police station of the Tour-d’Auvergne, in Rennes, the prisons are used to confine those in police custody. They are there most of the time from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, the time to be heard by the investigators. Sometimes they walk free or cross the street to be presented to a magistrate within the walls of the district court. Regardless of the outcome, the police station cells leave a bitter memory for all who pass through them.
On Monday 2 January, the new president of the Rennes bar association visits the premises, after a visit to the Vezin prison. Catherine Glon came out in shock, indignation. “It’s maddening to have such conditions, it’s a shame. I’ve heard about it for years but the situation persists. It’s crazy, ”the lawyer complains. “It smells bad, cold. I can’t even imagine when there will be twenty people locked up here,” sums up Sylvie Robert, the socialist senator who accompanied the lawyer.
“Conditions are pitiful”
We were unable to visit the prisons but we asked several policemen who are used to the places to describe them to us. “The conditions are pitiful, it’s disgusting,” says one of them. “It’s very dilapidated and smells a bit like sheet metal,” explains another.
The problem is not new and has often been denounced, particularly by police unions and lawyers. Some complain about their degraded working conditions, others appeal to the dignity of their clients, whom they like to point out as presumed innocent. “The police station is 40 years old. It was inaugurated by Gaston Defferre (December 22, 1981), then Minister of the Interior under François Mitterrand. And the prisons have never been renewed. Imagine ? asks the councilor Luca Togni. “So yes, there are problems with heating, ventilation, lighting. The conditions are not good.”
Each cell will have a bathroom
This summer, a report from the comptroller general of places of deprivation of liberty had already blocked the cells of the Tour d’Auvergne. The good news is that they will be restored, assures the director of public safety. «I had requested it in a report in July 2021. The administration became aware of the problem. But time passes between the release of funding and the award of public contracts. Luca Togni promises that all cells will be renovated by 2026 for an estimated one million euros. “Each cell will have a toilet inside. And a shower will be set up for two cells”.
The problem is that we will still have to wait at least three years. Three years in which the dilapidated premises will still affect the safety conditions of the agents. And on the conditions of detention of prisoners, who often have to share a cell that is already small for one person. “There are no toilets, so every time a boy wants to pee, you have to take him out, accompany him,” complains Frédéric Gallet, departmental secretary of the Alliance union. When it’s time to do his business, the prisoner discovers with joy the squat toilets at the end of the 70s. Some report that this journey through time has cut them off.
In 2022, more than 31,000 people passed through the central police station in Rennes, for a total of 9,300 complaints. A figure that has exploded, in particular due to the demographic pressure of the metropolis.
