An expert appointed by the court of Nantes had indeed found several problems in detention conditions: for example, prisoners were 7 people to a 30 m2 cell, without separated toilets.
During these visits in French prisons in 2005, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Álvaro Gil-Robles, denounced the overcrowding.
In addition, the prison map is no longer suited to the geographical realities of crime, as there is a lack of institutions in large cities (Lille, Lyon, Nice, Toulouse) and outer suburbs of the Paris area (Meaux, Orleans, Le Mans ...).
[9] But this congestion, as denounced by Louis Mermaz and Jacques Floch in the report of the parliament investigation commission in 2000,[10] is also due to the fact that the penitentiary centres scrupulously respect this numerus clausus rule.
Thus, out of 33,141 people sentenced on 1 January 2000, 9,497 of them are held in short stay prisons pending a place in a penitentiary centres.
A strengthening of the penal policies has been observed in France under the mandate of the Minister of Justice Rachida Dati, allowed for an increase of penalties for certain offenses and a more frequent use of confinement.
[12] However, in its 2006 report, the CPT was concerned about the health conditions of the individuals incarcerated, especially after a visit at Moulin hospital, where the permanent presence of police deprives patients of "the most basic right of confidentiality and privacy".
For the CPT, they must "review entirely" the conditions of psychiatric care for the most watched prisoners, who usually have their feet shackled and hands cuffed to the bed during hospitalization.
[17] In 2006, a study was conducted on 800 randomly selected prisoners in relation to mental illness in French correctional facilities.
Though mental illness may be the cause, prison officials often turn to administrative segregation and physical violence as a solution instead of treatment.
However, in their 2000 report on the detention conditions in French prisons,[20] Jean-Jacques Hyest and Guy-Pierre Cabanel were concerned to see that these canteens generate strong inequalities between inmates, introducing power relations and promoting the development of racketeering.
Furthermore, in its report of January 2006[21] the Revenue Court was concerned about the lack of regulations there were in the organization of canteens, and alarmed by the cost of living in prisons.
They are in a precarious situation which prevents them from carrying out compensation for civil parties and to commit themselves in an active rehabilitation approach.
Furthermore, in their report Jean-Jacques Hyest and Guy-Pierre Cabanel are worried about the condition of visiting rooms: those are dark places that are often not cleaned, or with an inconvenient access.
"At the prison of Nanterre, management had to install a small clinic that allows people to rest: the darkness and the oppressiveness of the corridors to reach the parlours regularly cause discomfort among visitors».