France's prisons hit record overcrowding as inmate count nears 90,000

Official Ministry of Justice figures show 89,446 people were incarcerated on 1 July 2026, a new historic high. The national occupancy rate reached 141.3 % and 174.5 % in houses of detention, while only 63,289 places were operational. About 7,900 mattresses are now placed on the floor, a 35.4 % rise in one year.

In Amiens, the detention centre holds 631 inmates in a facility designed for 268, a 240 % occupancy rate. Prison staff staged a strike on 31 July, joined by deputy François Ruffin, warning of imminent safety risks. In Lyon, the prison administration announced the non‑renewal of roughly fifteen contracts, further straining already thin staffing levels.

The Council of Europe has warned that French prisons risk becoming “human warehouses”. Inspector Dominique Simonnot criticised the lack of a national‑scale response and urged the opening of a new prison every six weeks. The Justice Ministry plans to add 3,000 modular places, half by 2027, but only a third of the 15,000 additional spots pledged in 2018 have been delivered, prompting concerns that the measures are insufficient.