Overview

• Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced plans to enable foreign prisoners in France to serve their sentences in their countries of origin.
• Currently, 25% of inmates in French prisons are foreign nationals, with two-thirds of them from non-European countries.
• Darmanin stated that future agreements would eliminate the need for inmate consent in such transfers, citing a recent arrangement with Morocco as an example.
• The initiative builds on existing European frameworks but would require bilateral agreements with non-European nations, raising concerns about human rights standards in some countries.
• Critics warn the policy could lead to unintended consequences, such as France receiving its own nationals imprisoned abroad, complicating efforts to address prison overcrowding.