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France Opens Third High‑Security 'Prison‑Within‑a‑Prison' Unit at Réau

The 20‑place unit is designed to cut off organized‑crime networks by isolating high‑risk inmates inside a heavily fortified, closely monitored section of an existing jail.

Overview

  • The prison administration announced Thursday that the Réau QLCO will begin receiving transfers in the coming weeks and that exact dates will not be disclosed for security reasons.
  • The unit was built inside the 800‑place centre pénitentiaire de Réau with about €4.5 million of works and replaces a former maison centrale.
  • Security measures include sealed furniture, live‑monitored phones, triple grills on windows, blind armored doors with menotage flaps, and millimetre‑wave scanners to block contraband and hidden devices.
  • Forty‑one specially trained volunteer staff will be permanently assigned to the 20 places, reflecting a high staff‑to‑prisoner ratio geared toward intensive containment.
  • The Réau opening follows two pilot QLCOs at Vendin‑le‑Vieil and Condé‑sur‑Sarthe and precedes planned units in Valence, Aix‑en‑Provence and Saint‑Laurent‑du‑Maroni, signaling a shift to costly, small‑scale units focused on narcotics and other organized‑crime networks.