With 69,173 detained on October 1, the number of people incarcerated in French prisons increased again in September, according to statistical data from the Ministry of Justice published on Wednesday.
On October 1, French prisons, which suffer from chronic overcrowding, had 69,173 prisoners for 60,372 operational places, against 68,472 on September 1 and 68,301 on August 1, an increase of 872 prisoners in two months.
The remand center of La Roche-sur-Yon in the lead
This growth is 13.1% over one year: there were 61,138 prisoners on October 1, 2020. Prison density in the 188 penitentiary establishments now stands at 114.6%, up compared to August 2021 ( 113.4%). The prison density even reached 210.3% at the remand center of La Roche-sur-Yon, 208.5% in Nîmes and 203.1% in Foix.
As of October 1, more than half of the detainees were held in a prison overcrowded by more than 120%, and 1,408 were forced to sleep on a mattress placed on the floor. Among the detainees, 19,136 (27.7%) are defendants, imprisoned awaiting trial.
Minors incarcerated on the decline
The number of imprisoned minors (733), who represent around 1% of the total prison population, has fallen slightly, while that of women imprisoned (2,954 on October 1, or 3.6% of the prison population) is increasing slightly.
A total of 82,932 people were placed in jail on October 1, of which 13,759 were not detained and were placed under electronic surveillance (13,089) or placed outside (670), stable figures.
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