more than 80,000 prisoners in France as of November 1, a record

French prisons have never recorded such a large number of inmates, with a record of 80,130 people incarcerated for 62,357 places as of November 1, according to figures obtained Friday from the Ministry of Justice.

The overall prison density was 128.5% as of November 1. This prison density, which exceeds 200% in more than a dozen establishments, forces nearly 4,000 inmates, 3,962 to be exact, to sleep on mattresses placed on the floor.

“Unrivaled record”

Prison density reaches 155.1% in remand centers, where detainees awaiting trial, therefore presumed innocent, and those sentenced to short sentences are incarcerated. “It’s an unrivaled record”noted a source at the Ministry of Justice, deploring the crossing of the threshold of 80,000 prisoners.

Among those incarcerated, 20,831 are defendants, in detention awaiting their final judgment. In total, 96,569 people were detained as of November 1. Among them, there are 16,439 non-detainees placed under an electronic bracelet or placed outside.

France is among the worst performers in Europe in terms of prison overcrowding, in third position behind Cyprus and Romania, according to a study published in June by the Council of Europe.