Summer Olympics in Paris: Preparing for even more inmates in packed prisons

The Olympics are fast approaching and the host city of Paris is well underway with preparations for the huge event this summer. The inhabitants of the metropolis will feel that.

In an attempt to police the city, the police have also stepped in, cracking down on increasingly minor offences.

2.5 kilometers from this summer’s boxing and fencing arena, Paris Arena Nord, there is a high, gray concrete wall around the Villepinte prison. There they receive prisoners for remand and short sentences from the busy court of Bobigny, in the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denise.

Villepinte is currently one of the most overcrowded prisons in France, writes Reuters.

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– Pressure to tighten

Eric Mathais, from the court in Bobigny, believes it is important to limit the number of prisoners, but admits that it will be difficult to manage before the Olympics.

– It is easier said than done as I am under extreme pressure from everyone to tighten even more, he says.

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Several from the legal system in Seine-Saint-Denise confirm that the system is operating at the limit of its capacity. On 8 April, there were 1,048 inmates at Villepinte, according to director Pascal Spenle. The prison is designed to house 582 inmates.

Inmates say they spend most of their days in their cells. There they have been up to three inmates in cells designed for one, sharing a toilet and showering every other day.

To avoid reaching breaking point, the judges at the Bobigny court almost doubled the number of early releases from Villepinte.

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Nevertheless, Villepinte operated at 180 per cent capacity in early April, up from 177 per cent in April the previous year and 168 per cent the year before, data from the prison and the Ministry of Justice show.

– This is just the beginning

Many of the Olympic events are held in Seine-Saint-Denis. The region has the highest proportion of immigrants in France. Teachers here have been on strike since February, and say the schools in the area are underfunded. Homeless people and travelers have set up camps and occupied houses in the area.

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Olivier Cahn, a sociologist at CESDIP, a French center for research on law and prisons, that harsh punishments disproportionately affected the poor, migrants and the homeless.

Michel Lavaud, Seine-Saint-Denis’ police director, last week called the police operation a clean-up and said the operation would provide security for the local population and “tourists, the public, the athletes’ families”.

In March and April, the police deployed an extra 4,000 personnel in the area.

– This is just the beginning, we will increase the intensity before the Games, Lavaud said.