France called to order.
The European body asked Paris to review its strategy to combat prison overcrowding.
The members of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe expressed in a decision rendered on Thursday "their deep concern" at the average occupancy rate of French prisons and remand centers, which rose to 147.6%, and which does not stops increasing.
Certainly, the French authorities have taken measures to try to remedy this prison overcrowding: ban on prison sentences of less than one month, adjustment of sentences, home detention under electronic surveillance or development of community service, for example. example.
Also read “For unstable prisoners, it can become hell”: the electronic bracelet, a solution not always suitable
But these prove insufficient and faced with this observation, the members of the Committee “urgently invite the (French) authorities to reconsider their strategy for combating overpopulation, by tackling its root causes and by evaluating, in a manner detailed, the impact of the latest reforms, all taking into consideration the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) as well as the observations of those in the field.
They also “invite the authorities to seriously and quickly examine the idea of introducing a binding national prison regulation mechanism, according to the modalities that it will be up to them to determine, given the urgency of the prison situation and taking into account the recommendations growing on this subject.
France condemned in 2020
The Council of Europe is the main human rights body on the continent, bringing together 46 countries.
Its judicial arm, the European Court of Human Rights, condemned France four years ago in a case of prison overcrowding.
Also read: Bois-d'Arcy prison, a glaring example of dilapidation and prison overcrowding
“Four years after the condemnation of France by the European Court of Human Rights (…) for the inhuman or degrading treatment to which detained persons are subjected, the Committee of Ministers examined for the third time the execution of this judgment », notes the French section of the International Prison Observatory (OIP).
The latter recalls that there are currently 77,000 inmates in French prisons, “unheard of”.
📣#Communiqué
The committee of ministers of the @CoE_fr invites France to “seriously and quickly examine the idea of introducing a binding national mechanism for prison regulation […] in the face of the urgency of the prison situation”https://t .co/xTFtJxw5mn
— International Prison Observatory (OIP) (@OIP_sectionfr) March 15, 2024
The Council of Europe will carry out a new monitoring of the situation in 2025. “It remains to be hoped that, by then, the French authorities will finally take stock of the emergency,” insists the OIP.