Before the Olympics, a Paris prison prepares for an increase in the number of inmates

by Layli Foroudi

VILLEPINTE, France, (Reuters) – The action plan put in place to combat delinquency and street vendors before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games is increasing the pressure on the Villepinte remand center, one of the most overcrowded prisons in France.

This remand center is located in Seine-Saint-Denis, 2.5 kilometers from the Paris Nord Arena where the boxing and fencing events are to take place during the Olympic Games.

Opened in 1991, the Villepinte remand center welcomes prisoners who have not yet been sentenced and others serving short sentences.

“The prison administration will have to prepare for the worst,” declared Eric Mathais, Bobigny public prosecutor.

He said reducing the number of detainees before the start of the Olympic Games, which open on July 26, was not realistic.

“We should in fact limit entries into detention. Afterwards it is easier said than done since, once again, I am under very strong pressure to be clearly more repressive, everyone wants more repression. “

Thirteen prosecutors, judges, lawyers and court employees in Bobigny that Reuters interviewed said the justice system in Seine-Saint-Denis was working at the limits of its capacity, as the number of actions filed for minor offenses increases before the start of the Olympic Games.

The director of the Villepinte remand center, Pascal Spenlé, indicated that the prison had 1,048 inmates for 582 places on April 8, the date on which Reuters journalists visited the establishment alongside the senator from Seine -Saint-Denis, Corinne Narassiguin.

Four detainees Reuters spoke to said they spend most of their days in their cells, which hold up to three prisoners although they were designed for one person.

According to prison authorities, at least 17 inmates sleep on mattresses placed on the floor.

Although the judges of the Bobigny court have taken measures to relieve congestion in certain prisons, the Villepinte remand center was operating at 180% of its capacity at the beginning of April, compared to 177% in April 2023 and 168% in April 2023. the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of Justice.

Pascal Spenle indicated that the Villepinte remand center planned to transfer certain inmates to other prisons in order to free up 220 places. A new wing should be built to relieve congestion at the prison in the future, he said.

In a letter to prosecutors dated January 15, Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti called for “rapid, strong and systematic responses” to offenses that could disrupt the Olympics.

Cédric Logelin, spokesperson for the ministry, indicated that the Chancellery was taking measures to reduce overcrowding and prevent crime during the Olympic Games. The court’s decisions are independent, he added.

“SHORT-TERM SOLUTIONS”

Many events of the Olympic Games will take place in Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the poorest departments in France which is home to many migrants and homeless people.

Teachers, who denounce the lack of resources in schools, have been on strike throughout the department since February. Many camps and squats have appeared to accommodate the homeless population. In some neighborhoods, street vendors line the streets.

For the mayor of Ile-Saint-Denis, Mohamed Gnabaly, the Olympic Games made it possible to develop infrastructure and housing, which until then suffered from a lack of investment.

Olivier Cahn, researcher at the Center for Sociological Research on Law and Penal Institutions (Cesdip), estimated that the use of policing and harsh sentences disproportionately affected poor, migrant and homeless populations.

“We only have short-term solutions,” he said.

The government developed a “zero delinquency” plan during the Olympic Games in order to combat certain crimes such as the sale of drugs or street vendors, which has the effect of increasing the prison population, explained Eric Mathais.

Michel Lavaud, territorial director of local security for Seine-Saint-Denis for the Paris police headquarters, told journalists last week that 4,000 additional police officers had been deployed in March and April to carry out operations “in place “clear”.

“We are here, and this is only the beginning. We will continue to increase the intensity,” he said.

CIGARETTE SELLERS

The operations carried out recently by the police targeted street sellers, said Michel Lavaud, including nearly 200 cigarette sellers.

Some of these street vendors were sentenced to prison terms and more than half were issued with orders to leave French territory.

“[C’est] the state of necessity. They don’t sell cigarettes because it gives them pleasure to sell cigarettes,” said Jade Paya, a public defender.

The number of prisoners of foreign nationality in the Villepinte remand center is high due to the geographical proximity of the prison to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, as well as the demographic diversity of Seine-Saint-Pierre. Denis, according to David Langelois, deputy director of the prison.

People of foreign nationality represented 21% of the prison population in France in 2020, while they only accounted for 10% of the country’s population, according to national statistics.

According to Senator Corinne Narassiguin, people of color are more controlled by the police and are heavily punished for small infractions. Asked about the question, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, Cédric Logelin, affirmed that legal sanctions were based on individual cases. He declined to comment on the proportion of foreign prisoners.

PRISON OVERCOPULATION

France is among the countries in Europe with the highest rate of prison overpopulation, behind Romania and Cyprus, according to data from the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe last month expressed its “deep concern” about the worsening situation in French prisons.

In order to cope with the expected increase in the number of cases during the Olympic Games, the Bobigny court is preparing to increase the number of immediate appearances.

The International Prison Observatory (OIP) estimates that this type of rapid procedure generates eight times more prison sentences than a traditional procedure.

The use of this type of procedure has increased in recent years, data from the Ministry of Justice show, which, according to OIP researcher Johann Bihr, has contributed to prison overcrowding in France.

The reintegration of former prisoners also suffers from prison overcrowding, according to the non-profit association Emergence 93.

Two washing stations operated by Emergence 93 in Seine-Saint-Denis in which former prisoners are employed will be forced to close their doors during the Olympic Games. One is located in a shopping center which will be closed during this period, the other on a site rented to the Japanese delegation.

Manuel Chajmowiez, a specialist educator working with Emergence 93, said the association had asked Olympic organizers to allow former detainees to wash the fleet of 500 vehicles provided to athletes and officials at the event, but that She received no response.

“For the moment we have nothing to offer (as work),” he said. (Reporting by Layli Foroudi; French version by Camille Raynaud, edited by Kate Entringer)