French prison guards blockaded facilities across the country on Monday, shutting down 14 of 17 prisons in the Hauts-de-France region in a strike called by the UFAP-UNSA union. The action, which also saw demonstrations at prisons in Bois-d'Arcy near Paris, Lyon-Corbas, and Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone in the south, targeted chronic overcrowding and staff shortages that have pushed the system to a breaking point.
Guards prevented prisoner transfers and closed gates at facilities in Beauvais, Amiens, Douai, and Béthune. The UFAP-UNSA union is demanding emergency measures to fill an estimated 5,000 vacant guard posts. The FO union, representing around 30% of prison staff, did not join the action, calling it premature.
Overcrowding by the Numbers
France's prisons held 88,419 inmates as of 1 April, nearly 25,000 more than the system's capacity of just under 63,500 places. On 1 March, 87,126 people were held in facilities with fewer than 63,500 places, yielding an occupancy rate of 137.5%. The prison population is growing by roughly 200 inmates per week, and UFAP-UNSA national secretary Wilfried Fonck expects the 90,000 mark to be crossed by September.
Only Slovenia and Cyprus record higher occupancy rates in Europe, though both have far smaller prison populations. The Council of Europe condemned French prison conditions in January, warning that conditions in French jails had become degrading.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has rejected calls for an automatic population regulation mechanism, under which entries into detention would be matched by releases once a threshold is crossed. Instead, he favours legally binding capacity targets, which he describes as "clear numerus clausus objectives."
The bill known as SURE has already passed the Senate and includes a ban on the use of floor mattresses to house additional inmates. No date has been set for its examination by the National Assembly.
The Ministry of Justice plans to open 3,000 additional places, half of them by 2027, in modular prisons for prisoners on short sentences or approaching release. A 2018 programme to build 15,000 new places has yielded fewer than a third of that target. Darmanin has also moved to accelerate the expulsion of foreign nationals from French prisons, claiming a 70% increase in such removals between 2024 and April 2026.
The crisis in French prisons is part of a broader European challenge. In neighbouring countries, similar pressures have led to debates about sentencing reform and prison infrastructure. Meanwhile, security concerns across the continent, including drone debris hitting Romanian towns and ongoing conflicts, continue to strain national resources.
As France's prison population swells, the strike highlights the urgent need for systemic reform. The government's reliance on new construction and deportations may offer short-term relief, but unions and human rights groups argue that without addressing root causes—such as pre-trial detention rates and sentencing policies—the overcrowding will persist.
