On Sunday, France's Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, announced a decision to create a hyper-secure prison dedicated to isolating the country's "100 biggest drug traffickers," as reported by Ouest-France. "We are going to take a French prison, we will empty it of the people who are there, and we will put in it, since we will have totally isolated it, totally secured it, with particularly trained prison officers, the hundred largest narcotraffickers," he stated, according to Le Monde.
The proposed prison aims to prevent these criminals from continuing their illicit activities from behind bars. Darmanin emphasized, "What is unbearable is that prisons are no longer obstacles for most narcotraffickers to continue their trafficking, or to assassinate, or to threaten magistrates, prison officers, journalists, or lawyers," as reported by Le Monde. The plan involves isolating each inmate to stop them from conducting operations from their cells, according to France Info.
In some detention centers, prison officers have been caught for corruption, having been bought or threatened by powerful narcotraffickers, according to France Info.
Darmanin assured that he could implement the measure without the need to pass a law. "I need the will (...) and a little bit of money and I will have it," he stated, according to Le Monde. He said he will "hit very hard" against drug traffickers, as reported by Ouest-France.
The drug trade in France has reached unprecedented levels, with an estimated turnover of 3.5 to 6 billion euros per year, and traffickers are flooding the market with narcotics, according to France Info. Darmanin noted the "huge financial power" of drug traffickers, emphasizing the need to "change everything in the fight against drug trafficking," as stated in Le Monde. He remarked, "We must do against drugs what we did against terrorism and which worked even if there are still attacks," recalling that "France has been able to equip itself with extremely strong judicial and administrative weapons against terrorism," as reported by Le Monde.
The central prison of Condé-sur-Sarthe in Normandy could be chosen for the initiative and is being considered by the Ministry of Justice, according to BFMTV. These prisons are equipped with advanced security features, such as millimeter-wave portals that limit the exchange of prohibited objects or substances between detainees. Ludovic Gambiez, the mayor of Vendin-le-Vieil, explained, "It's a prison where trained agents work who are not new to their posts; it offers special conditions compared to other detention centers; we do not have prison overcrowding; the facilities are designed so that inmates cannot communicate with each other; surveillance is easier there," as reported by Ouest-France.
However, the proposal has raised concerns among some unions and legal professionals. According to France Info, some unions are questioning how to imprison rival gang members in the same prison, as they have always been incarcerated in different facilities until now. A lawyer expressed that the proposal is difficult to implement, both legally and financially, as noted by France Info. The definition of the "top 100" traffickers and the criteria for their selection leave lawyers and magistrates perplexed.
Ludovic Friat, president of the Union Syndicale des Magistrats, stated, "The figure of one hundred is above all symbolic; we have to start somewhere. We understand that the minister wants to strike minds first. But we must be realistic: we will not isolate everyone. Because unlike terrorism, we have many more people concerned by organized crime. How do we profile them? (...) For now, we don't know," according to Le Monde.
This proposal by Darmanin is almost unanimously supported by the main prison staff unions, including FO-Direction Pénitentiaire and Ufap-Unsa-Justice. Wilfried Fonck, national secretary of Ufap-Unsa, stated, "It corresponds to a historical demand, that is to say the creation of specialized establishments, which we have been advocating for thirty years.". He added, "We still need to agree on the implementation. We will have to see the minister."
Local residents near potential prison sites have expressed concerns. In Vendin-le-Vieil, residents are expressing their fears about the potential transfer of these drug traffickers. A resident explained to BFM Grand Lille, "It's worrying because drug trafficker is not nothing, it's not like they stole some wheels," as reported by BFMTV. Another resident questioned, "What do we do if they escape and they're in the city? It's scary anyway. How are we going to manage?"
The prison of Vendin-le-Vieil, opened in 2014 and considered the most secure prison in France, is among the options being considered, as noted by BFMTV. It is equipped with effective phone jammers, preventing these network leaders from ordering criminal actions from their cells. The facility has housed inmates incarcerated for terrorism, highlighting its capacity to manage high-risk detainees.
Despite the challenges, the government promises to implement the new prison for drug barons by summer, as reported by France Info. The authorities assure that the drug traffickers would have the same rights as other detainees. The conditions of detention remain the same, for example regarding visiting rooms or walks, according to Ouest-France. The project aims to stop the use of mobile phones in detention and thus prevent these criminals from continuing to conduct their trafficking behind bars.
Prison directors note that "incarceration in a single dedicated establishment also allows, on their side, to avoid the mass of litigation that would have inevitably arisen if the minister had pursued his initial idea: that of putting this penal population in isolation or in a disciplinary quarter," according to Le Figaro.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.