In a political column broadcast on Tuesday, December 17, the councilor affirms that his municipality “ supports the principle of an extension of the remand center located on its territory » and that it has “ land rights to enable the realization of such a project ».
Jérôme Viaud thus responds to the resigning Minister of Justice, Didier Migaud, who notably attributed the delay in the creation of new prison places to opposition from local elected officials. “ The implementation of the 15,000 plan (15,000 new prison places by 2027) is very late » with less than a third achieved and a forecast, « if everything goes well », of 6,421 places created instead of 15,000, declared the minister during his hearing in November by the Senate Law Committee. Didier Migaud had advanced “ technical and environmental hazards” and explained that it was “often very difficult to convince elected officials to let us build a penitentiary establishment on their territory ».
This is not the case in Grasse for Jérôme Viaud, who writes in his column that “ the extension of the Grasse penitentiary center is even the subject of a broad political consensus throughout the Alpes-Maritimes department ». “This solution was also proposed to the Minister of Justice in 2021 via a letter co-signed by Charles Ange Ginésy, president of the departmental council, Éric Ciotti, deputy, and Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice. In light of these elements, we can only deplore the lack of decision-making on this central issue. », added Mr. Viaud, who calls on the State to give “ an agreement favorable to the extension of the Grasse remand center » and to endow his commune « the human and financial resources necessary for the successful conduct of this ambitious project ».
Firmness
The mayor recalls that Grasse is the capital of the district and that it “ positions itself (…) as an essential link in the judicial system in the department ». « In addition to the remand center, it also has a Judicial Court which houses more than 600 lawyers “, he stressed.
According to the French section of the International Prison Observatory, the men’s detention unit of the Grasse remand center housed 685 inmates on January 1, 2024 (for an operational capacity of 543 places). In France, the bar of 80,000 prisoners has been exceeded with 80,130 people imprisoned on November 1, 2024, for 62,357 operational places.
« Faced with insecurity and the feeling of impunity that is affecting our fellow citizens, it is time to reaffirm the firmness of our action », further assured Jérôme Viaud. “ This firmness must translate into adapted infrastructure, justice that functions properly, and dedicated resources that meet the expectations expressed on the ground. Grasse is ready to take responsibility in this national effort, but it cannot do it alone ».
Photo from one: view of the Grasse remand center ©S.Guiné
