The Local France

France taken to court for rat and cockroach-infested prison

Tue, 04 Oct 2016 10:28:30 +0200

Campaigners filed a complaint against the French state Monday, denouncing overcrowding and filthy conditions in a prison near Paris infested with rats, cockroaches and bedbugs.

Live from jail: Another French inmate mocks the system

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 14:42:10 +0100

A French prisoner has had six more months tacked onto his sentence after he broadcast live from his cell and fielded questions about life in jail from curious law abiders.

French murderer back after 'holiday' from jail

Fri, 06 Jun 2014 15:11:00 +0200

A French murderer has kept his promise and returned to a Swiss jail after escaping because he needed 'some air.' He'd promised in a letter to his mum to behave while on the lam.

Armed men break French drug kingpin out of jail

Wed, 04 Jun 2014 15:29:00 +0200

In a brazen daylight escape, armed men busted a French drug kingpin out of police custody on Tuesday at a hospital. The trafficker is considered one of the "godfathers" of the drug world in the Paris area.

Frenchman returns to jail to get away from partner

Tue, 06 May 2014 19:06:00 +0200

A Frenchman recently released on parole purposefully cut off his electronic tag, knowing he would be sent back to prison. The reason why? He was desperate to get away from his girlfriend.

Foot fetishist jailed for attack on elderly woman

Wed, 23 Apr 2014 19:26:00 +0200

A French fetishist was so smitten with an elderly lady’s feet he burst into the terrified woman's home and proceeded to sniff, lick and rub them as she lay helpless. The lewd act cost him 18 months behind bars.

Frenchmen jailed over bid to wage jihad abroad

Mon, 10 Mar 2014 18:37:00 +0100

Four Frenchmen convicted of trying and failing to fight 'holy war' abroad were handed up to seven years behind bars by a court on Monday. The men tried to reach Pakistan, Somalia and Afghanistan.

VIDEO: Jail probes inmates' Harlem Shake

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 13:04:00 +0100

Prison authorities at a jail in eastern France have been left with some explaining to do after two videos – one showing a dozen inmates doing a particularly enthusiastic version of the Harlem Shake – appeared on YouTube in recent days.

Mum on trial over son's rape in jail visiting room

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 14:19:00 +0200

A French mother went on trial on Monday, charged with holding down her four-year-old son while his stepfather raped him repeatedly in a prison visiting room. The couple are accused of having covered the room's windows with bin bags to obstruct the view of guards.

State to pay for jailing namesake of child rapist

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 18:16:00 +0200

The French state are ready to pay compensation to an innocent man, wrongly jailed after he was mistaken for a child rapist with the same name, his lawyer said on Monday. However the lawyer blasted the offer of €12,000 ($16,000) in damages as "ridiculous".

French prisoners riot after inmate found dead

Mon, 19 Aug 2013 16:19:00 +0200

Prisoners at a jail in France staged a mutiny on Monday when around 60 of them went on the rampage after an inmate was found dead in his cell, authorities reported. Riot officers were called in to quell the disturbance.

Prisoner severs finger and sends to minister

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 11:41:57 +0200

A French prisoner hacked off his own finger and sent it to Justice Minister Christiane Taubira in an attempt to accelerate his transfer to a different jail.

Man blocks ambulance 'because he needed a cig'

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:51:00 +0200

Two brothers have been sentenced to eight months in jail after blocking an ambulance which was rushing a 7-year-old to hospital near Paris. One of the pair blamed his actions on the fact that he hadn't had his first coffee and cigarette of the day.

Court slams France over prisoner treatment

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:19:00 +0100

The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday condemned France for inhumane and degrading treatment of a prisoner detained in an evil-smelling, burnt-out cell.

French-Vietnamese blogger jailed in Vietnam

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:48:44 +0200

A court in Ho Chi Minh City jailed a French-Vietnamese lecturer and blogger for three years Wednesday for attempted subversion, the latest conviction of a peaceful democracy advocate in Vietnam.