{"id":289814,"date":"2025-07-25T05:52:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/289814\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T05:52:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:52:18","slug":"frances-justice-minister-targets-drug-kingpins-with-new-ultra-secure-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/289814\/","title":{"rendered":"France’s justice minister targets drug kingpins with new ultra-secure prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AP) \u2014 They are France<\/a> \u2018s most dangerous drug kingpins, according to the country\u2019s justice minister \u2014 prison inmates so wealthy and powerful<\/a> that even behind bars, they can continue to order assassinations, run narco-trafficking operations and launder money.<\/p>\n

Flexing his powers as minister in charge of the French penal system, G\u00e9rald Darmanin\u2019s solution to the problem is contentious. He is moving 100 inmates \u2014 men he describes as \u201cFrance\u2019s biggest criminals\u201d \u2014 into an austere maximum security penitentiary in the country\u2019s north that critics say has echoes of tough U.S. prisons. <\/p>\n

The move is also possibly vote-catching for Darmanin, who has joined a growing field of possible successors to President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> after the next election, less than two years away.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

A corridor of cells in the Vendin-le-Vieil prison. (AP Photo\/Michel Euler, Pool, File)<\/p>\n

A corridor of cells in the Vendin-le-Vieil prison. (AP Photo\/Michel Euler, Pool, File)<\/p>\n

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Behind high walls and watch towers<\/p>\n

In the newly reinforced Vendin-le-Vieil prison, the selected inmates will be locked in individual cells for 23 hours on most days. <\/p>\n

Largely cut off from the world, Darmanin argues they will no longer be able to fuel drug-related violence, which has become a political issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to guarantee that they don\u2019t speak to the outside, that they don\u2019t continue their trafficking outside, that they don\u2019t corrupt prison officers, magistrates, police officers and gendarmes,\u201d Darmanin said on primetime evening television after the first 17 inmates were transferred earlier this week to Vendin-le-Vieil from other, less secure facilities. Another 12 were moved in on Thursday.<\/p>\n

France has had a long history of both notorious prisons (the Bastille) and prisoners \u2014 both real (Napoleon) and fictional (\u201cThe Count of Monte Cristo\u201d). <\/p>\n

Still, Vendin-le-Vieil\u2019s lock-up conditions are exceptional, similar to the ultra-secure \u201cSupermax\u201d prison<\/a> in the United States and Italy\u2019s tough \u201ccarcere duro\u201d incarceration rules for Mafia members.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

Inside a Vendin-le-Vieil prison cell. (AP Photo\/Michel Euler, Pool, File)<\/p>\n

Inside a Vendin-le-Vieil prison cell. (AP Photo\/Michel Euler, Pool, File)<\/p>\n

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Vendin-le-Vieil already houses some of France\u2019s most infamous prisoners \u2014 including Salah Abdeslam<\/a>, lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists that terrorized Paris in 2015<\/a>, killing 130 people in gun and bomb attacks. <\/p>\n

To make way for the specially selected 100 inmates \u2014 some already convicted, others in pre-trial detention \u2014 many other Vendin-le-Vieil inmates were moved out. The newcomers will be grouped together in the prison\u2019s new \u201cSection for Combatting Organized Crime,\u201d with reinforced security and regulations, and equipped with systems to block mobile phone signals and drones. <\/p>\n

Among those on the list for Vendin-le-Vieil is Mohamed Amra, nicknamed \u201cThe Fly,\u201d<\/a> who staged an escape last year that killed two guards and then fled to Romania before he was captured and returned<\/a> to France.<\/p>\n

\u2018Extremely hard\u2019 conditions<\/p>\n

The newcomers will have just one hour a day in a prison exercise yard, in groups of no more than five. The rest of the time, they will mostly be confined to individual cells fitted with holes so prison guards can handcuff them before moving them and with ratchet systems so inmates can\u2019t yank the doors open or shut when they have to be unlocked. <\/p>\n

They will be guarded by 250 wardens \u2014 elsewhere, the ratio is usually 20 guards to 100 inmates, Darmanin told French broadcaster TF1. <\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

The ratio of guards to inmates at Vendin-le-Vieil is far greater than is usual in France\u2019s prisons. (AP Photo\/Michel Euler, Pool, File)<\/p>\n

The ratio of guards to inmates at Vendin-le-Vieil is far greater than is usual in France\u2019s prisons. (AP Photo\/Michel Euler, Pool, File)<\/p>\n

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Instead of unlimited calls with family members from prison phones, they will be limited to a maximum of two hours, twice a week \u2014 a restriction that Darmanin says will make monitoring their conversations easier. <\/p>\n

Prison visiting rooms have also been equipped with security glass dividers, to prevent physical contact between inmates and visitors. Darmanin says this will prevent mobile phones and other contraband from being smuggled in. The new Vendin-le-Vieil inmates also won\u2019t have the rights accorded in other prisons of intimate time with partners and family members.<\/p>\n

Darmanin said the conditions will be \u201cextremely hard\u201d but are necessary because France risks \u201ctipping into narco-banditry\u201d in the absence of tough decisions. <\/p>\n

Mental health concerns<\/p>\n

Critics say Darmanin is taking a gamble by grouping together so many inmates he describes as dangerous. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what I know, even when they\u2019re placed under the strictest isolation, they\u2019re so smart that they always find ways to communicate with each other,\u201d said May Sarah Vogelhut, an attorney for one of the prisoners transferred this week. \u201cIt\u2019s almost more like a networking club for billionaire narco-traffickers.\u201d <\/p>\n

She and others also say the tough conditions could inflict an unacceptable toll on the prisoners\u2019 mental health. <\/p>\n

Vogelhut said her 22-year-old client was a major drug dealer in the southern French port city of Marseille and was convicted and sentenced to 25 years for torturing his victims. He is appealing his sentence. <\/p>\n

Held in isolation in another prison before his transfer to Vendin-le-Vieil, his biggest concern was the glass barrier that will prevent him from hugging his mother and touching other visitors, Vogelhut said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike what we French see in American movies, when the person is behind a glass and you talk through a phone,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI find that inhumane. I mean, imagine that a guy spends 10 years there \u2014 for 10 years, he can\u2019t hug his mother?\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to dehumanize them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

High walls and watch towers are part of the security features at Vendin-le-Vieil. (AP Photo\/Michel Euler, Pool, File)<\/p>\n

High walls and watch towers are part of the security features at Vendin-le-Vieil. (AP Photo\/Michel Euler, Pool, File)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

More high-security units planned<\/p>\n

First as a minister for public accounts, then as interior minister and since last December as justice minister, Darmanin has proven to be one of Macron\u2019s most loyal lieutenants. <\/p>\n

His close ties with the unpopular president, who can\u2019t run again, could work against Darmanin if he runs in 2027. But his government experience and tough-on-crime rhetoric could work in his favor with voters.<\/p>\n

Darmanin has announced plans for at least two other high-security prison units for convicted and accused drug traffickers, one of them in the overseas territory of French Guiana.<\/a><\/p>\n

Vogelhut accuses Darmanin of angling for votes and playing on \u201cFrench people\u2019s fears and anxieties.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t solve any problems,\u201d she said. \u201cThere won\u2019t be any less crime.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS (AP) \u2014 They are France \u2018s most dangerous drug kingpins, according to the country\u2019s justice minister \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[188,36116,14615,34,2000,299,36,16831,34183,4179,107986,2199,3274,10040,107987,1411,14618,107985,22713,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-289814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-crime","9":"tag-drug-cartels","10":"tag-drug-crimes","11":"tag-emmanuel-macron","12":"tag-eu","13":"tag-europe","14":"tag-france","15":"tag-france-government","16":"tag-french-guiana","17":"tag-general-news","18":"tag-grald-darmanin","19":"tag-italy","20":"tag-latin-america","21":"tag-marseille","22":"tag-mohamed-amra","23":"tag-paris","24":"tag-prisons","25":"tag-salah-abdeslam","26":"tag-south-america","27":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114912319652149997","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}