France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has unveiled plans to reintroduce a system requiring prisoners to contribute to the cost of their incarceration, as part of a broader effort to address rising violence and systemic issues in the country’s prison system.
Speaking to broadcaster TF1 on Monday, April 28th, Darmanin announced his intent to “amend the law” and threw his support behind a bill already introduced in the National Assembly in March. “Until 2003, prisoners contributed to the cost of their incarceration,” he said. “Just as there is a fixed hospital charge, there was a fixed prison attendance charge.”
The justice ministers’ announcement comes in the wake of a wave of violent attacks on prisons and prison guards across France in April. Nearly 200 investigators have been deployed in response, and 25 suspects were detained on Monday during a nationwide operation. The attacks were claimed by a group calling itself the ‘Defense of the Rights of French Prisoners’ (DDPF), which has used Telegram to spread threats and videos targeting prison officers.
In addition to his televised remarks, Darmanin posted an open letter on X on Monday, reaffirming his “total determination” to protect prison staff. “The absolutely unacceptable violence and threats committed against you [prison officers] and prisons in recent days have rightly shocked you,” he wrote. The letter detailed new protective measures aimed at ensuring prison guards’ anonymity and safety.
