French prisons overcrowded as inmate population hits unprecedented levels

The number of prisoners in French prisons reached a record high and exceeded 77,000, according to the Ministry of Justice of France, Report informs, referring to AFP.

On April 1, the number of prisoners in France stood at 77,450, which is 4,370 people more than in the same period of 2023. This is considered the largest number of prisoners in the history of France.

"Some prisons are 200% full. This means a sharp increase in the number of those who are forced to sleep on the ground," the information said.

Before that, the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly condemned the conditions in French prisons. The ECHR said in July of last year that there was a chronic problem of overcrowded prisons in France, along with a lack of targeted work to improve poor conditions.