The conclusion is firm.
The General Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty (CGLPL) recommends "suspending imprisonment" at the "overcrowded" remand center in Bois-d'Arcy (Yvelines), according to emergency recommendations published this Friday in the Official Journal.
Dominique Simonnot explains that he observed on the spot in mid-September “unworthy conditions of detention”, in particular an occupancy rate of 165% and a “general disorganization of detention”, which did not make it possible “to guarantee neither the safety of those imprisoned , nor that of the people who work in the penitentiary centre”.
In this rare recommendation, the Controller of Prisons considers it "necessary" to "suspend incarceration until a general inspection of justice confirms that the security of the detainees is ensured (...) and that their working conditions allow the guards to carry out all of their missions.
Three prisoners in single cells
At the time of the check, the remand center had 867 detainees for 530 theoretical places.
“466 detainees are accommodated in pairs in individual cells, 201 detainees are accommodated in threes, still in individual cells,” according to Dominique Simonnot.
"The single cells in which two detainees are housed offer each of them a space of 2.92 m² while the single cells housing three detainees offer each of them a space of 1.4 m²", details the text.
According to the findings, the toilets are separated "from the rest of the cell only by incomplete partitions".
Another problem: “Detainees shower only three times a week, including after a sporting activity or a day's work.
Without hot water in the cell, they wash their laundry and the cell in cold water.
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In addition to the suspension of incarceration, the Comptroller of Prisons recommends guaranteeing prisoners "respect for their health and physical integrity", particularly in the face of the risk of fire, as well as access in their cell to "a hot plate, refrigerator and hot water.
Photographs from the CGLPL show “heating” devices installed in the cell, tinkered with using cans and handkerchiefs soaked in oil.
The kitchen of the establishment is also singled out: it “compromises the health security of prisoners and will have to be inspected by the veterinary services”.
“This situation persists despite regular information from the magistrates by the prison administration about overcrowding”, adds the authority.
The management of the establishment did not react immediately.
The Minister recognizes a “worrying” situation
In response, the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti sent several "Observations" to the Controller of Prisons in a letter dated November 30, in which he described the prison overcrowding in Bois-d'Arcy as "worrying".
“Letters are regularly written by the interregional director (of prison services) to the attention of the Paris Court of Appeal and that of Versailles in order to highlight this worrying situation.
A new letter will soon be sent on this subject, ”he wrote in this document also published in the Official Journal.
An electrical renovation operation, “currently in the works phase” and due to be completed in 2024, “will make it possible to meet all the recommendations” of the CGLPL, according to Éric Dupond-Moretti.
At the end of November, the number of detainees in France reached a new absolute record at 72,809 people, for 60,698 operational places.
