French prisons reach a new high with 88,654 inmates

Paris – 30.05.2026: French prisons recorded a new high of 88,654 inmates on May 1, 2026. Compared with the previous year, this represents an increase of more than 5,000 people, equivalent to a rise of 6.3 percent. However, the number of available places only increased by less than 1,000 (1.6 percent), leading to greater overcrowding.

The situation is especially critical in pretrial detention facilities, where people serving short sentences or awaiting their verdicts and therefore considered innocent are housed. There, the occupancy rate is 171.1 percent, well above the system-wide average, which is overcrowded at 139.1 percent.

Thus, France is among the countries in Europe with the highest prison densities. In European comparison, only Slovenia and Cyprus report higher levels of overcrowding, although with a significantly smaller inmate population.

In January 2026, the Council of Europe warned in a report about the risk that French prisons could increasingly become “concentration camps.” The body specifically criticized overcrowded prisons, poor hygiene conditions and the rise in violence among inmates.

Overcrowding is also reflected in daily life in prisons: on April 1, 2026 it was necessary nationally to place 7,540 additional mattresses on cell floors, an increase of nearly 60 percent compared with the previous year. In 30 of the 190 prisons analyzed, there are two inmates in a space designed for one, representing an occupancy rate of 200 percent or more.

This situation is causing growing tensions and protests among staff. On April 27, 2026 there were nationwide blockades by prison guards, who with this action sought to draw attention to chronic overcrowding and staff shortages. The UFAP-UNSA union demanded the filling of around 5,000 vacant positions to improve the situation.

The Ministry of Justice plans to create a total of 3,000 additional places in modular prisons by 2027, in order to relieve the situation. However, of the expansion planned since 2018 for 15,000 places, less than a third has been implemented so far.

Persistent overcrowding in prisons remains a central problem of the French justice system. It not only affects the detention conditions of inmates, but also compromises the working conditions of prison staff and increases the risk of violence and disturbances within prisons. Alleviating this situation sustainably requires more investment and reforms.