Faulty air conditioning, lack of cold water and recurring insecurity: the detention center (CRA) of Marseille is under the threat of temporary closure by the administrative court, seized Wednesday by a summary liberty demanding that the "serious attacks" brought to detainees stop.
If the judge, who must rule within 48 hours, were to go in this direction, it would be a first and would constitute an additional slap in the face for the French State, regularly criticized for the inadequate care of foreigners awaiting expulsion.
Many malfunctions
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The accommodation conditions are catastrophic: there is no more air conditioning while the temperatures are very high and cold water non-existent, "lamented the lawyer Maëva Laurens, representative of seventeen people currently detained at the CRA of Canet (northern districts), listing many "dysfunctions". Relying on a vitriolic report by the President of the Marseille Bar following his visit to the premises on July 10, she explained that the establishment has not benefited from cold water since its construction in 2006. A few bottles of water are distributed during meals.
The centre, which can theoretically accommodate 136 people, currently has only 62 after two successive fires broke out in late June and mid-July. One detainee died shortly after the first fire, although the reasons for his death have not yet been clarified. "Currently, the fire alarm system no longer works. If tomorrow a fire breaks out, everyone dies. This is unacceptable!", including for the staff of the establishment, said Maëva Laurens. She also deplored the difficulty of access to care for those detained while a doctor is present on the site only three half-days a week. No psychiatrist or psychologist practises there even though the regulations require it. "Faced with a population that has changed, with people coming out of prison, people are going crazy: there is an increase in suicide attempts," she added.
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Since a new circular from the Ministry of the Interior dating from August 2022 encouraging to accelerate the expulsion of foreigners known for disturbing public order, "the number of people suffering from psychiatric disorders and addiction disorders has increased considerably" in this establishment, highlighted the report of the president of Marseille, Mathieu Jacquier. As a result, acts of violence, including rape, have also increased, leading to a "fairly widespread problem of insecurity" and a "significant dilapidation of collective facilities," according to the report. For his part, the representative of the prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône said that work was underway on air conditioning and cold water. "Public contracts have been launched," said Thierry Servia, deputy head of mission restraint at the prefecture, considering that "living conditions, even if they are spartan and difficult, do not go against fundamental freedoms".
In mid-June, the General Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty (CGLPL), Dominique Simonnot, had deplored in a document published in the Official Journal that several detention centers for illegal immigrants remain structurally "detrimental to human dignity", despite repeated warnings but "left without follow-up".». The letter of the independent administrative authority had not specifically targeted the center of Marseille but those of Lyon 2, Mesnil-Amelot, Metz and Sète. As is often the case, the CGLPL had noted conditions that were "seriously prejudicial to the dignity and fundamental rights of detainees". The France had 25 of these centers in 2022, for 1936 places available. The government hopes to reach 3000,2027 places by <> with the construction of new CRAs.