In prisons, the effects of the recent heatwave affecting part of France are amplified. In a situation of endemic prison overcrowding, the stifling atmosphere only makes daily life worse for inmates and guards alike. Added to this is the obsolescence of certain buildings. Even though a plan to build 18,000 new prison places is underway, as well as a renovation plan, many establishments are outdated and were not designed for such high temperatures. Prison courtyards are made from hard materials, with virtually no shade. In the cells, windows are obstructed by duckboards, and it's virtually impossible to create any breeze. In the walkways, the atmosphere is just as unbreathable.

"All the prisons in the south are affected. There are no showers in the cells and not enough guards. In some of the prisons I visited, the floor of the exercise yard looked like it was at boiling point," said Dominique Simonnot, the Contrôleuse Générale des Lieux de Privation Liberté (Inspector-General for Custodial Facilities). "Imagine being locked up for 21 hours out of 24 with three people in a cell – so, with a mattress on the floor – in those temperatures..."

Normally, in the summer, due to the court-system vacation, the number of prisoners drops. But this year, that has not been the case. All staff interviewed reported a "plateau effect," with the number of inmates remaining stable. In hot weather, this makes the situation even worse. Prison overcrowding is affecting the country as a whole. On July 1, the number of inmates reached a new record in France, with a total of 74,513 people incarcerated, i.e. 2,500 more than a year earlier. In August, this figure dropped slightly, to 73,700 for just over 60,000 operational places. The heatwave is particularly affecting establishments in the south of the country. Bordeaux-Gradignan (southwest France) is one of them.

The facility will inaugurate a brand-new building in 2024. But, in the meantime, staff are facing a highly charged situation. Understaffed (the recruitment plan launched by the Ministry of Justice has yet to produce its effects), they are having to deal with an outdated facility that is experiencing extreme overcrowding: on Wednesday, August 23, a tally revealed 80 mattresses strewn across the floor, while the prison's capacity had surged to 216% the week prior.

The prison is also plagued by drug trafficking. A drone delivery of almost 500 grams of hashish was intercepted on the night of Friday, August 18 to Saturday, August 19. "The heatwave is just one more element in a catastrophic situation," summed up Ronan Roudaut, local secretary of the prison workers' union UFAP-UNSA Justice. "The heat gets everyone worked up." The trade unionist describes a situation that has deteriorated dramatically, with very poor working conditions, "exercise yards left unguarded," and drugs omnipresent. This crisis isn't new. In May, "stop bolt," a mechanism for refusing new inmates, was introduced at Bordeaux-Gradignan. It's an exceptional measure and proof of the tension within the establishment. When contacted, the facility's management did not respond to our requests for an interview.

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