Overview
- Official data show 86,229 detainees for 63,613 operational places on December 1, setting the national density at 135.6%.
- The inmate population rose by 5,437 over one year (+6.7%) while capacity increased by 1,209 places (+1.9%).
- Overcrowding is most acute in maisons d’arrêt at 164.7% and is particularly high in the Paris region at 160.5% and in overseas territories at 149.6%.
- The ministry plans about 3,000 modular places within roughly 18 months, yet only 4,500 of the 15,000 places promised in a 2018 program have been delivered.
- Calls to regulate entries or ease releases continue, but Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin opposes such measures as unions warn of understaffing and deteriorating conditions.