Several hundred people« die every year in France »"in prison,"« without their exact number being known«" , denounces the General Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty (CGLPL) on Friday, September 25, also pointing to a suicide rate in detention among the highest in Europe.
In two notices published in the Official Journal, The Comptroller General, Dominique Simonnot, reports serious shortcomings in the prevention and management of these deaths.
The exact number of people who died in these places« is neither fully known nor made public" , " due to a lack of adequate traceability and reporting of information«" she regrets.
This shortcoming can be explained in particular by "« due to the Ministry of Health's inability to indicate the number of patients who died during or following their hospitalization under involuntary treatment.», according to her.
The Ministry of Justice, on the other hand, recorded 275 deaths in custody in 2025 – without distinguishing the proportion of women and minors – of which more than half (136) were by suicide.
Read also A report on prison health highlights the system's shortcomings
A suicide rate higher than in Europe
According to the Space study by the Council of Europe, The suicide rate in French prisons, well above the European average, stands at 19.4 per 10,000 inmates, compared to a European median of 7.3.
“ Stable for fifteen years, between 15 and 20 per 10,000«"This rate "decreased slightly in 2024 and 2025," the Ministry of Justice specifies in observations addressed to the CGLPL.
The Directorate General of Penitentiary Administration (DGAP) is conducting a "« a reflective study on suicide risk (…) which will lead to recommendations«"The ministry further specifies, without specifying when they will be made public.
Between 2022 and April 2026, the CGLPL also notes the figure "« alarming »"24 inmates killed by fellow inmates in prison facilities"« overworked“.
The institution also points to shortcomings in access to healthcare for seriously ill prisoners. Up to a third of scheduled medical transfers are reportedly cancelled due to a lack of escort.
For its part, the Ministry of the Interior recorded 14 deaths in 2024 in police stations, gendarmerie posts, and administrative detention centers (CRA), compared to four the previous year. No deaths were recorded between January and August 2025.
In psychiatry, hospitalized individuals« die in isolation, sometimes chained up«", sometimes without monitoring or traceability," the opinion further notes, highlighting two cases in which« No autopsies were performed despite the unexplained nature of these deaths.. »
The inspector recommends ending the practice of restraint.« without waiting »"the 2030 deadline set by the government.".
The institution demands that the data on these deaths be systematically analyzed and made public by each relevant ministry.
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