This Sunday, December 29, 2024, during the USAP-La Rochelle match (21-13), four inmates from Perpignan prison were able to attend the meeting at Aimé-Giral in Perpignan. The result of an unprecedented action, called Barreaux aux Poteaux, carried out, among others, by training managers from the club in order to work towards the reintegration of these Perpignans, who will be released in a few months.
Working for the reintegration of Perpignans damaged by existence and “who have paid their debt to society”these are the words of Régis Peyronnet and Tom Brunel, managers of USAP Formation who carried out an unprecedented operation revealed by the newspaper L'enseignement. They have been working for two years, in the shadows, to help a public on the margins of society: inmates of the Perpignan prison.
“It all started when we were invited by the French rugby team to play a touch match at the prison. We met guards who explained to us their difficulty in diversifying sporting activities for prisoners. While emphasizing that these actions could have a serious impact on reintegration after release…“. The idea germinates. The motivation too.
To set up their project, these training center managers then interact with the Perpignan prison center, France Travail, the Perpignan local youth mission, the USAP at the heart of the territory (the foundation of the club, Editor's note), the Face association Catalan Country and the City of Perpignan.
As a result, for two months until December 2024, the USAP went to the prison every Wednesday to lead sports and reintegration sessions. “In the morning, our BPJEPS (Professional certificate for youth, popular education and sport) trainees took advantage of the sporting activities to provide advice on expected behavior in the workplace. In the afternoon, we helped the detainees create their CVs and refine their interview speech…”.
In total, 9 prisoners were able to benefit from this support. These were people from Perpignan, from priority neighborhoods, whose sentences were coming to an end. “Within the next three months, 8 will be releasable, the last will be in July”specifies Régis Peyronnet. He remains a “reference” for these future liberated people.
This Sunday, December 29, 2024, during the USAP-La Rochelle match (21-13), he presented the project to business leaders in the hope “that some, sensitive to this action, are interested in one of the CVs”. Four prisoners, accompanied by guards, were able to attend the match at Aimé-Giral, accompanied by a certain Sadek Deghmache, blood and gold scrum half.
France
