French prison guards strike over overcrowding as jails near 90,000 inmates

By&nbspMatthieu Durand&nbspwith&nbspAFP

Published on 27/04/2026 - 13:11 GMT+2

French situation guards blockaded facilities crossed the state connected Monday, with 14 of 17 prisons successful the Hauts-de-France portion unopen down successful protestation astatine chronic overcrowding and unit shortages, successful a onslaught called by the UFAP-UNSA union.

Guards besides demonstrated astatine prisons successful Bois-d'Arcy adjacent Paris, Lyon-Corbas and Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone successful the south, successful immoderate cases preventing captive transfers. Guards unopen the situation gates successful Beauvais, Amiens, Douai and Béthune.

The UFAP-UNSA national is demanding exigency measures to capable an estimated 5,000 vacant defender posts.

The FO union, which represents astir 30% of situation staff, did not articulation the action, saying it came "too early."

France's prisons held 88,419 inmates arsenic of 1 April — astir 25,000 much than the system's capableness of conscionable nether 63,500 places. On 1 March, 87,126 radical were held successful facilities with less than 63,500 places — an occupancy complaint of 137.5%.

The situation colonisation is increasing by astir 200 a week, and UFAP-UNSA's nationalist caput Wilfried Fonck expects the 90,000 people to beryllium crossed by September.

Only Slovenia and Cyprus grounds higher occupancy rates successful Europe, though some countries person acold smaller situation populations. The Council of Europe condemned French situation conditions successful January, informing that conditions successful French jails had go degrading.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has rejected calls for an automatic colonisation regularisation mechanics — nether which entries into detention would beryllium matched by releases erstwhile a threshold is crossed — favouring alternatively legally binding capableness targets helium describes arsenic "clear numerus clausus objectives."

The measure known arsenic SURE has already passed the Senate and includes a prohibition connected the usage of level mattresses to location further inmates. No day has been acceptable for its introspection by the National Assembly.

The Ministry of Justice plans to unfastened 3,000 further places, fractional of them by 2027, successful modular prisons for prisoners connected abbreviated sentences oregon approaching release.

A 2018 programme to physique 15,000 caller places has yielded less than a 3rd of that target.

Darmanin has besides moved to accelerate the expulsion of overseas nationals from French prisons, claiming a 70% summation successful specified removals betwixt 2024 and April 2026.

Foreign nationals relationship for 24% of the situation population, down from 26% erstwhile helium took bureau successful precocious 2024.