Number of prisoners reaches record high in France

The number of prisoners in French prisons reached a record high of 78,500, AFP said, citing the French Ministry of Justice, according to Report.

The number of convicts in penitentiary institutions has constantly increased over the last ten months, and the average occupancy rate in penitentiary institutions has reached 126.9 percent. In 19 penitentiary institutions, this number even exceeded 200 percent. According to the ministry, 3,500 prisoners have to sleep on the floor.

The situation in the penitentiaries where the French people are waiting for a court decision or serving a short prison sentence is even worse, as the average occupancy there reaches 152.3 percent.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has repeatedly condemned this situation in French prisons. In July last year, the ECtHR declared that there was a chronic problem with prisons in France, saying that the conditions were extremely bad and that no measures had been taken to improve the situation.