France plans to convert nursing homes into prisons to tackle inmate overcrowding

On June 30, France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin outlined new measures to address the chronic overcrowding in the country’s prisons, including an innovative plan to repurpose closed care homes (EHPADs) to house low-risk inmates.

Speaking on RTL’s morning programme, Darmanin highlighted progress made since he took office, noting that several new prison places have been created, Caliber.Az reports.

However, with demand continuing to outstrip supply, he detailed fresh approaches to expanding capacity.

One such idea involves converting shut-down elderly care facilities into detention centres for less dangerous prisoners. “At present, we place all prisoners together regardless of their risk level,” Darmanin explained.

The minister said he was categorising inmates by risk and planned to open a high-security prison for drug traffickers by the end of July, alongside smaller, more humane facilities for low-risk offenders.

Darmanin also confirmed that France had proposed leasing prison places abroad to neighbouring countries, following suggestions from President Emmanuel Macron.

Spain and Germany have been approached with offers to rent several hundred or even thousands of places near the border, though legal and European Union regulatory hurdles remain to be addressed.

On prison construction, Darmanin revealed that ten companies responded to a recent tender to build new prisons in just 18 months—a significant reduction from the usual seven-year timeline. The new facilities will cost approximately €200,000 per place, half the previous expense.

“The goal,” Darmanin concluded, “is not to release prisoners prematurely, but to build enough places to house them appropriately and safely.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev