French Prisons Reach New High with 88,654 Inmates

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

The situation is particularly critical in remand prisons, which house individuals serving short sentences or awaiting trial and are therefore presumed innocent. There, the occupancy rate stands at 171.1 percent, well above the system-wide average of 139.1 percent overcrowding.

France is thus among the European countries with the highest prison densities. In European comparison, only Slovenia and Cyprus report even more severe overcrowding, although the total number of prisoners there is significantly lower.

As recently as January 2026, the Council of Europe warned in a report about the risk that French detention facilities were increasingly becoming “human warehouses.” The council specifically criticized the overcrowded prisons, poor hygienic conditions, and rising violence among inmates.

Overcrowding also manifests itself in the daily life of prisons: On April 1, 2026, a total of 7,540 mattresses had to be placed on cell floors nationwide – an increase of almost 60 percent compared to the previous year. In 30 of the 190 prisons examined, two inmates occupy the space intended for only one person, corresponding to an occupancy rate of 200 percent or more.

The situation is increasingly leading to tensions and protests among staff. On April 27, 2026, nationwide blockades by prison guards took place to draw attention to the chronic overcrowding and staff shortages. The union UFAP-UNSA 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 detention places in modular prisons by 2027 to alleviate the situation. However, less than one third of the planned expansion by 15,000 places since 2018 has been implemented so far.

The ongoing prison overcrowding remains a central problem in the French justice system. It burdens not only the detention conditions of inmates but also endangers the working conditions of prison staff and increases the risk of violence and unrest within the facilities. A sustainable relief of the situation requires further investments and reforms.