The number of prisoners held in French prisons reached a record high of 90,900 as of October 1, AFP reports, citing the country's Ministry of Justice.
According to the information, the number of prisoners increased by 7.2% compared to October 1, 2025. Meanwhile, prison capacity increased by only 1.5%, reaching 63,452 places.
As a result, the overall prison occupancy rate reached 143.3%, while the rate stood at 178% in facilities holding prisoners serving short sentences or awaiting trial.
France's Ministry of Justice plans to build modular prisons with an additional 3,000 places to address the problem. However, of the 15,000 places planned under a program adopted in 2018, only 8,000 have been put into operation so far.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly criticized prison overcrowding in France, poor detention conditions and insufficient measures to improve the situation.
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