Record number of prisoners in France raises concerns over overcrowding

According to official statistics published by the French Ministry of Justice, there are more people (74,513) in prison in France than ever before. The country has broken its own prisoner record six times since the end of 2022, almost every month.

This figure represents an increase of 2,446 since last year, after the release of approximately 10,000 prisoners to alleviate the notorious overcrowding in the prison system due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and an increase of 15,818 since the summer of 2020.

The prison population exceeded 73,000 for the first time last April.

The overall occupancy rate for the entire prison system is 122.8%, rising to 146.3% in facilities housing pre-trial detainees and short-term offenders.

As a result, 2,478 prisoners do not even have proper beds to sleep on and are forced to use mattresses on the floor.

The country's prisons are so overcrowded that the European Court of Human Rights condemned the system in 2020 for "structural" overcrowding and ordered the payment of compensation up to 25,000 euros to 32 prisoners for "serious violations of fundamental rights."

The French parliament issued a report emphasizing the "urgent need" for a prison reform mechanism.

The prisoners' defense group, Observatoire International des Prisons, warned that the overcrowding is likely to worsen as authorities raise the bar with the "zero crime" policy for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.