Overview

• French prisons are operating at 133% capacity, with 82,921 inmates occupying facilities designed for 62,358, creating a declared state of emergency.
• An emergency mission report, commissioned by the Justice Ministry, proposes a general sentence-reduction mechanism to bring occupancy below 100%.
• The mechanism would exclude certain offenses like domestic violence, terrorism, and serious crimes, with the reduction quantum to be determined by Parliament.
• The report suggests modeling the proposal on the COVID-19 early-release scheme of 2020, which temporarily reduced prison occupancy below 100%.
• The Chancellerie has announced plans to issue a public statement on the recommendations in the coming days, signaling potential government action.