Overview
- Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin removed the Rennes‑Vézin prison director on November 21 after a 37‑year‑old inmate slipped away during a November 14 planetarium visit in Rennes.
- Prosecutors said the escape occurred without violence; the man remains at large after taking advantage of a group outing where six inmates were unhandcuffed and supervised by Education Nationale staff.
- A disciplinary review cited failures including no prior notice to the interregional prison authority and inadequate staffing for the outing; the director’s deputy is temporarily in charge.
- In a separate case at Vendin‑le‑Vieil, the Douai appeals chamber upheld a permission de sortie for Monday, November 24, allowing narcotrafficker Ouaihid Ben Faiza, 52, to attend a job interview with no escort despite objections from the prison director and prosecutors.
- Penitentiary unions UFAP‑UNSA and FO condemned the judicial authorization as incoherent with the high‑security QLCO regime and warned of security risks for staff and the integrity of organized‑crime controls.