After weeks of silence, the hum of the sewing machines finally resumed three weeks ago. To the great pleasure of these prisoners from the Joux-la-Ville detention center (CD): “We could no longer stay in cell, breath one of them. At least, that keeps us busy. " And not only. Working for around 5 euros an hour allows them to be financially independent, even to reimburse civil parties. Above all, the activity contributes to their being “actors of their sentence”, as the administration says.
Until then, the workshop produced ecological hygiene products on behalf of the company “Les Tendances d'Emma. But, Covid-19 forces, the machines were reoriented for the production of washable masks. Since the end of March, ten workshops, in as many penitentiary establishments in France, have manufactured nearly 8,000 of these masks every day under the aegis of the general interest work agency (TIG) and the professional integration of the ministry. of Justice. In other prisons, such as in Joux-la-Ville, private companies - here Sodexo - are in the driver's seat.
In all cases, 70% of the production is done on behalf of Résilience, a group of companies, which supplies the institutions, as well as for a Lyons SME specializing in protective equipment. 100,000 of these masks have, for example, been delivered to the AP-HP. The remaining 30% is intended to equip ministry officials, including in the courts.
"We tell ourselves that it can save lives"
Within each workshop, we had to adapt. In Joux-la-Ville, the machines, previously one meter apart, are now 2.80 m apart. On a daily basis, the tools are disinfected with bactericides. Each operator is equipped with a cap, and, of course, a mask. "At first, we put on the gloves, but it was really impossible to sew with that," describes one of them.
At quality control, Cyril and Jean-François, two prisoners, check the "overcasting" or the fitting of the elastics of these models, the design of which has been validated by the Directorate General of Armament (DGA). "We really have the feeling of being useful for society," says the first. "We tell ourselves that it can save lives," adds the second.
19 prisoners returned to work out of the 35 who previously benefited. Those who have not been retained "are disgusted", slips one of the dressmakers. "When we pass on the gangways, they ask us when they can resume," agrees a supervisor. In Joux-la-Ville, the prisoners were already trained on machines belonging to "Emma's tendencies".
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Emma is Emma Terrier, a nurse by training, who set up this company a decade ago, and assumes to work with prisoners. "It is still taboo to say it, but we are very proud of it, and so are they," explains the business manager, who had completed an internship at Fleury-Mérogis. “It is part of their reintegration, and how it will be for them once their sentence is over. "
"It's a chance for us to be able to do it"
Elsewhere, some detainees have been specially trained. As in Marseille, "where the 12 operators had never touched a machine, and were able to be operational in two weeks", notes Albin Heuman, the director of the TIG agency. "Making masks restores inmates' self-esteem," said the applicant. They feel it brings them back to the community. As in Val-de-Reuil (Loiret), where one of the prisoners assigned to the production of masks also lost his nephew of the Covid-19.
While masks have been missing for a long time, many also feel that they are working to protect the guards, and indirectly to their own. Prisoners are now allowed to wear masks, especially during visiting rooms, judicial and medical extractions, or for "auxiliaries", for example in charge of meal service.
"It's a chance for us to be able to do it," said one of the operators in Joux-la-Ville. If the national production potential is not yet at its peak, it should quickly reach it. "We still have some problems with the supply of raw materials or transport," concedes Albin Heuman. Once cruising speed is reached, the various players in the sector predict that the workshops converted into these 100% made in prison masks will devote themselves to this mission at least until the end of 2020.