The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture will carry out its first visit to France next week to assess detention conditions across the country, in prisons, police and gendarmerie custody facilities, psychiatric institutions and administrative detention centres.
The visit, scheduled from 17 to 23 May and announced by the organisation on Tuesday, follows France’s 2008 ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which allows independent international experts to inspect detention facilities and work with authorities on safeguards against abuse.
The mission had previously been postponed due to financial constraints, according to the statement.
During the week-long visit, the delegation will have direct access to detention facilities throughout France as part of its mandate to monitor the treatment of people deprived of their liberty.
Experts are expected to inspect prisons, police and gendarmerie custody facilities, psychiatric institutions and administrative detention centres.
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'Reality on the ground'
“We hope to engage in a constructive dialogue with the French authorities and all relevant stakeholders to support the state’s efforts to protect detainees,” Suzanne Jabbour, who will lead the delegation, said in the statement.
She added that the visit would provide “an opportunity to see the reality on the ground and to reaffirm our shared commitment to ensuring that torture and ill-treatment have no place in any place of detention”.
The delegation will consist of four international experts and two human rights officers. During their stay, they will meet representatives from several ministries, members of parliament, prosecutors and judges.
The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture will also hold discussions with France’s general inspector of Places of Deprivation of Liberty, as well as representatives of the UN Committee in France.
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Prison overcrowding
At the end of the mission, the delegation will present confidential preliminary observations to the French authorities before submitting a full report.
The UN body has encouraged France to authorise publication of the report “in the interests of transparency and accountability”.
The visit comes amid continuing concern over overcrowding in French prisons. As of 1 April, 2026, French prisons held 88,145 inmates – a record high that has intensified debate over detention conditions and prison capacity.
Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that chronic overcrowding can worsen living conditions, strain prison services and increase risks for both detainees and staff.
(with newswires)
