France

Overcrowding in French prisons reaches record high

France’s prison population has reached a record total of 72,836, according to official figures released this week by the justice ministry. While the country’s jails are on average overcrowded at a rate of 120% of their official capacity, some are at more than 200% of capacity, and more than 2,000 inmates are forced to sleep on mattresses laid out on cell floors. Michel Deléan reports. 

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France’s prison population has reached a record high, with a total of 72,836 people recorded behind bars on December 1st, a year-on-year rise of 4.1%, according to monthly statistics published earlier this week by the justice ministry.

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