two prison guards attacked by inmates

Le Figaro Nantes

A double attack, one after the other. Two guards at the Nantes remand center have been placed under arrest in recent days after being attacked while at work. Hanging on by a recalcitrant inmate, refusing to return to his overcrowded cell, the first was violently thrown to the ground; a few days later, a colleague who tried to intervene in a fight between captives was the victim of an unexpected and forceful blow to the face. Facts dating back to April 23 and 29.

“The first colleague, who took a brush, has several bruises from the attack. The second was completely paralyzed by the violent right she took, relates to Figaro William Cozic, FO delegate from the Nantes penitentiary center. She is still shocked by the accident, since she had intervened between the detainees to calm the situation.

Fights against a backdrop of traffic

According to the prison officer, these two attacks could be attributed to the growing tensions generated by prison overcrowding. Last month, some 200 detainees slept on mattresses placed on the floor in crowded cells at the Nantes detention center. Quarrels between prisoners add to the promiscuity. “There are more and more fights, particularly against a backdrop of traffic . However, we have no solution, no room for maneuver to better manage these problems”regrets William Cozic.

Located in the north of the city, the Nantes remand center has been beating its historic overcrowding record for several weeks with, as of April 23, 946 inmates for 508 places. The number of prison guards remains fixed, on the other hand, with around 200 agents.