Prisons: Gérald Darmanin wants to make prisoners pay an incarceration tax

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin would like to make prisoners pay to finance their incarceration. What contribution are we talking about? Today, an incarcerated person costs the state an average of €128 per day, or €10 million for all prisoners. The goal would be to have inmates contribute €5 per day or more depending on their means. The idea is not new; until 2003, inmates who worked had to pay €45 per month. The flat rate was abolished under the Raffarin government to promote reintegration. The return of this contribution is a long-standing issue, proposed to the National Assembly in 2015, 2018, and 2021, each time without follow-up.

But according to the general inspector of places of deprivation, this would be nonsense. "I find it deeply shocking when you see the state of the cells to make people pay for this. You have to see what it's like to have three men locked up in six square meters with vermin swarming around," protests Dominique Simonnet. What do prisoners already pay for today? In prison, they no longer receive RSA or unemployment benefit, but they are fed and housed. Everything else is their responsibility, such as television and phone calls. They also have access to grocery stores, called canteens, where prices are higher than in stores, even though only a third of prisoners work and receive a salary.

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