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French prisons: A ticking time bomb

French prisons: A ticking time bomb

Update: 2025-10-20
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With nearly 85,000 inmates for a capacity of only 62,000, French prisons are overflowing. In this rare documentary, our cameras were able to enter the Grenoble-Varces prison, which is regularly singled out for its unsanitary conditions and overcrowding. In this detention centre, inmates are sometimes crammed three to a cell measuring only nine square metres. With inhumane conditions, exhausted prison staff and record reoffending rates, the French prison system seems to be nearing breaking point. We take a closer look.

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French prisons: A ticking time bomb

French prisons: A ticking time bomb

FRANCE 24 English