Renting prison places abroad "if necessary" - a viable measure?

During the interminable program (about 3 hours 10 minutes when it was supposed to last 2 hours) "The challenges of France" started at 8 p.m. and dust on TF1 Tuesday May 13, Emmanuel Macron disappointed a lot, on many subjects, to which he provided no solutions . He was even pushed several times to his limits . In particular by Robert Ménard, the mayor of Béziers, on the issues of immigration, insecurity and prisons. Faced with their record occupancy rate in our country ("82,921 prisoners for 62,358 places, i.e. an overall prison density of 133%" on April ¹ , 2025 reports Cnews ), the latter questioned the President on the possibility of renting places abroad as other European countries do (Denmark would rent 300 prison places in Kosovo for ten years for an amount of 210 million euros).

A close neighbor has already abandoned this method

Belgium did this for a while, sending prisoners to the Netherlands, we learned yesterday on France 2, but it didn't last, as it was a financial drain. A specialist on the flat country explained on the public service's 8 p.m. news that just covering the cost of the numerous transfers of prisoners from one country to another, borne by Belgian taxpayers, was prohibitive...

An impossible measure according to this supervisor

The head of state did not rule out this hypothesis, although one of his close associates later confided to our colleagues that he had responded "without thinking." We asked Damien Tripenne, head of the prison CGT, for his opinion on this subject:

Planet.fr: What do you think after hearing about this measure?

Damien Tripenne: That's a thoughtless answer. Honestly, it's just improbable, given that most of the people in our prisons are not solvent and are considered destitute . It's even the state that gives them a nest egg to help them survive.

Planet.fr: This relocation is not possible, do we need more places in France?

Damien Tripenne: To address overcrowding problems, it's not enough to build prisons, like the "kit" ones ( Emmanuel Macron spoke of a project for 5,000 new places, in "lighter structures that are much quicker to build," editor's note ) with prefabricated buildings... That's about communication. We need land first, and municipalities need to agree to host prisons...

Planet.fr: So what is the solution?

Damien Tripenne: In any case, it's not about sending our prisoners abroad. We need a complete reform of penal policy in France.

Planet.fr: And if the measure were to succeed, you would undoubtedly be penalized: a freeze on the hiring of guards and salaries since these prisoners would no longer be cared for by the French penitentiary system?

Free places will be filled quickly

Damien Tripenne: First of all, whatever happens, we will always be in a situation of prison overcrowding . You have to know that there are a lot of prison sentences that are decided and pronounced but which are not applied due to lack of space. If we sent prisoners abroad, these places would be immediately taken. Several years after COVID, while the then Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet had released several thousand prisoners (for health reasons, around 6,600, the end of their sentences and early releases, editor's note), we continue to break records. It never stops. We will never be able to free up prison places.

Planet.fr: Is it due to a lack of investment that we cannot make due to a lack of budget?

Damien Tripenne: Above all, we need to consider alternative sentences. The "latest trend" is to say that a child, even if sentenced to only 15 days in prison, must spend them behind bars. This is currently unthinkable. It's just a publicity stunt. It's impossible given the state of backlog we're facing.

Planet.fr: What explains why other countries are willing to rent out their prison spaces?

Damien Tripenne: They don't have these overpopulation problems because their alternative policies to incarceration are more competent.

Planet.fr: Belgium has decided to stop sending its prisoners abroad because of the cost. Would the problem be the same here?

Damien Tripenne: Imagine renting a cell, plus transfers, plus the daily cost of living for the incarcerated person (food, hygiene, correspondence)... And there's also the separation from family, human rights, which may be different.

Planet.fr: This idea comes from the right, which is nevertheless critical of public spending. Gérald Darmanin had already proposed such a measure, but concerning our foreign national prisoners...

Damien Tripenne: The right is in "security" mode in order to exist. If the right measures aren't taken, it's because there's no will. I find it unacceptable that a country can send its inmates abroad because it can't handle them. We have the largest prison in Europe, Fleury-Mérogis, plus other very large facilities, and even the staff of the integration and probation services responsible for monitoring alternative sentences (electronic bracelets, judicial monitoring, community service, etc.) lack resources.

Planet.fr: And yet, on the right (this is an observation and not an opinion, editor's note) , people believe that judges are too lax and sentences are not severe enough.

Damien Tripenne: But that's completely false. The proof is the occupancy rate of our prisons (France is regularly challenged by the European Union on this subject and has already been condemned, editor's note) . Once again, the sentences handed down cannot be applied because there is no room. And renting them abroad will solve nothing.