Overview
- The Contrôleure générale des lieux de privation de liberté published an 'alerte rouge' on Friday following a March inspection that found 1,188 detainees in a 633‑place facility, a 191% occupancy rate.
- Inspectors documented specific health and safety failures including cockroach infestations, torn linoleum with asbestos‑containing glue, broken windows, faulty plumbing and dangerous electrical fittings.
- Staffing shortfalls were acute with about 25% of custody posts absent and roughly 100 staff missing on the day of the visit, which curtailed escorts, visits, activities and access to medical care.
- The report records a 96% rise in inter‑detainee violence between 2023 and 2025 and lists 438 violent incidents in 2025, including 38 involving weapons, which the CGLPL says has made inmates fearful.
- Short‑term fixes have failed: a 275‑place block opened in 2024 was immediately overcrowded, a planned 260‑place expansion for 2027 is judged insufficient, and the 2022 court injunction to improve conditions remains unmet which raises legal, health and rights risks for detainees and staff.