The publication last month of the diary of a prison doctor has shocked the French public and prompted parliament to vote unanimously to create a commission to investigate “in depth” the living conditions of prisoners and working conditions of prison staff.
Elisabeth Guigou, the minister of justice, has ordered another commission, headed by the president of France's highest court of appeals, to report on the external control of penitentiary administration. “The situation in many of our prisons is not worthy of a country such as ours,” said Mrs Guigou.
The book, Médecin-chef à la Prison de la Santé, was written by Dr Véronique Vasseur, who has worked in the Santé prison for seven years, the last six as head physician.
She found the cells filthy and infested with rats and mice and the mattresses so teeming with lice and other insects that inmates collected them in jars to protest. Drug dealing was rampant, with some guards also being involved. Rape was frequent, as were self mutilations, suicides, and attempted suicides.
Guards beat up prisoners, and seasoned inmates turned weaker ones into slaves, who did not dare complain for fear of reprisals.
Food was often spoiled and gastroenteritis epidemics were frequent. Dr Vasseur even identified a disease known only in wartime—bread scabies, caused by mouldy bread.
The book has caused an uproar and triggered investigations by the press. Some of France's notorious former prisoners, including former ministers and top business executives, have been interviewed and have signed a petition deploring prison conditions.
The daily newspaper Le Monde carried out its own investigations and published reports on a number of documented cases of mistreatment, suicides, negligence, and rapes.
A high proportion of prisoners in French jails are remand prisoners, who are awaiting trial but have not been convicted of any offence, some of whom are later found not guilty. In July last year, 57844 people were in jail in France, of whom 20143 were on remand. Prisoners awaiting trials and those condemned to less than one year's imprisonment are kept in prisons called “maison d'arrât,” which are the most overcrowded—on average 20%above capacity.
Last year 118 prisoners committed suicide, more than 1000 attempted it, and there were 1362 self mutilations, including swallowing metallic objects—knives, forks, and even razor blades (usually taped or wrapped in cloth).
There were 953 hunger strikes lasting at least seven days and 278 attacks by inmates on guards; mistreatment and beating of prisoners by guards also took place.
Dr Vasseur writes that at the Santé prison about a third of inmates are addicted to some drug, ranging from cocaine to concoctions of strange ingredients such as water in which batteries had been boiled. Guards are often involved in drug trafficking.
She estimates that 5-10%of inmates are HIV positive.
Figure.
AP PHOTO/
La Sant[008e] prison, where conditions have been exposed by the chief prison doctor