Crime increases dramatically in France

By Alimat Aliyeva

The number of citizens serving sentences in French prisons continues to rise, and in the near future, there may be no more space to hold dangerous criminals, Azernews reports.

"In France, there are 82,000 prisoners for 60,000 beds, which represents an overcrowding of 30%. If we do nothing, in a few months we will not be able to imprison criminals who have raped and killed," said the head of the department.

To address this issue, Minister Gérald Darmanin proposed building prisons with more lenient conditions for criminals sentenced to shorter terms.

"It takes seven years to build a regular prison. These require watchtowers, barbed wire, trenches, and strict regulations. But not everyone should be kept under such conditions. It would be easier to build new institutions with less stringent requirements," the minister explained.

He also addressed the issue of drug trafficking, particularly tightening control over the leaders who continue to run criminal gangs directly from prison.

"Today, 17,000 prisoners in our prisons are involved in the distribution of illegal substances. The French people do not understand why some of them continue to direct drug trafficking operations from their cells, send money, and even order murders," Darmanin lamented.

According to him, he plans to "clean French prisons of mobile phones" and identify and isolate the leaders of criminal organizations.

In addition to prison reform, these statements reflect growing concerns about the effectiveness of France's criminal justice system, particularly in controlling organized crime and preventing inmates from maintaining influence over illegal activities. The issue of prison overcrowding has reached critical levels, making it a key topic in France’s national security and justice discussions. Some experts argue that alternative methods, such as rehabilitation-focused facilities or electronic monitoring, could help alleviate the strain on the prison system. However, these measures would require significant investment and policy shifts, which remain subjects of intense debate.