France's prison population reaches all-time high

France's prison population hit a record high on May 1, with 83,681 inmates held in facilities that have a capacity of just 62,570, justice ministry data showed on Saturday.

Over the past year, France's prison population grew by 6,000 inmates, taking the occupancy rate to 133.7 percent.

The record overcrowding has even seen 23 out of France's 186 detention facilities operating at more than twice their capacity.

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who has called the overcrowding crisis "unacceptable", has suggested building new facilities to accommodate the growing prison population.

The hardline minister announced in mid-May a plan to build a high-security prison in French Guiana -- an overseas territory situated north of Brazil -- for the most "dangerous" criminals, including drug kingpins.

Prison overcrowding is "bad for absolutely everyone," said Darmanin in late April, citing the "appalling conditions" for prisoners and "the insecurity and violence" faced by prison officers.

A series of coordinated attacks on French prisons in April saw assailants torching cars, spraying the entrance of one prison with automatic gunfire, and leaving mysterious inscriptions.

The assaults embarrassed the right-leaning government, whose tough-talking ministers -- Darmanin and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau -- have vowed to step up the fight against narcotics.

And in late April, lawmakers approved a major new bill to combat drug-related crime, with some of France's most dangerous drug traffickers facing detention in high-security prison units in the coming months.

France ranks among the worst countries in Europe for prison overcrowding, placing third behind Cyprus and Romania, according to a Council of Europe study published in June 2024.