3 weeks ago
Heatwaves expose overcrowding crisis in Europe's ageing prisons
In Europe this summer, the weather got very, very hot.
Many prisons are very old and very crowded.
Sometimes three or four people have to share one tiny, stuffy cell.
There is no air conditioning in many of these buildings, so prisoners suffered in the heat.
One prisoner in France got hurt after the heat made him feel faint.
Prison workers tried to help by giving out more water, showers, and sun cream.
Some people say the real problem is that there are too many prisoners and the buildings are too old.
The governments of France, Italy, and Belgium say they want to fix this.
Building or fixing prisons, however, is not popular with voters, so changes are slow.
Heatwaves this summer exposed severe overcrowding and ageing facilities in prisons across France, Italy, and Belgium.
Occupancy reached 141.3% in France, 139.7% in Italy, and 121% in Belgium, according to government and rights-group figures.
A prisoner in Limoges, France suffered a head injury on July 8, saying he passed out from heat; a prison officers' union gave a different account.
Italian activists staged simultaneous visits to 34 prisons on July 14 to protest what they called inhumane conditions.
Governments offered water, showers, sun cream, and fans; Italy pledged €800,000 and 10,000 new prison spaces, though none have been created yet.
- Who
- Prisoners, prison officers, activists, and officials in France, Italy, and Belgium, including France's chief prison inspector Dominique Simonnot, Belgium's justice minister Annelies Verlinden, and Antigone head Patrizio Gonnella.
- What
- Summer heatwaves exposed severe overcrowding and poor conditions in ageing, non-air-conditioned prisons.
- Where
- Prisons across France, Italy, and Belgium, including Orleans-Saran and Limoges in France, Rome's Regina Coeli prison, and Ghent and Merksplas in Belgium.
- When
- Summer of 2026, including a June heatwave and a July 8 incident; the report was published on August 7.
- Why
- Overcrowded, outdated buildings with little ventilation make extreme heat harder to bear, causing injuries, health risks, and rising tensions among inmates.
Critics and activists
Governments and prison authorities
Heatwave conditions
Critics and activists
France's prison inspector and activists said conditions are inhumane, with prisoners packed three to four in a nine-square-metre cell in old, non-air-conditioned buildings, and no refrigerators or fans.
Governments and prison authorities
Authorities said they took measures including extra showers, more water, sun cream, and fans, and Italy allocated €800,000 for fans and refrigerators.
Limoges injury
Critics and activists
The prisoner told his lawyer and mother he passed out from the heat, fell, and gashed his head going to the toilet.
Governments and prison authorities
A prison officers' union representative said the inmate slipped while climbing up to get fresh air at a window.
Long-term solutions
Critics and activists
Prison directors and inspectors say overcrowding must be fought and the ageing buildings are the fundamental problem, with single-glazed windows and poor ventilation.
Governments and prison authorities
Governments pledged new spaces and home detention for addicted inmates, but as one director noted, nobody wins votes by promising to build or renovate prisons.
Key facts
- France prison occupancy
- 141.3% as of July 1 (government figures)
- Italy prison occupancy
- 139.7% in late July (Antigone)
- Belgium prison occupancy
- 121% in August (Conseil Central de Surveillance Pénitentiaire)
- Italy heatwave funds
- €800,000 ($923,280) for fans and refrigerators
- New prison spaces pledged
- 10,000 in Italy by the end of the year; none created so far
- Ghent prison population
- 447 inmates against capacity of 260
- Prison protest visits
- 34 prisons visited simultaneously on July 14
- Limoges injury
- July 8; temperatures above 37°C
Quotes
Dominique Simonnot
Chief prison inspector of France
“Imagine — we are suffocating in our flats, and they are three to four people in one nine‑metre‑square cell, in a building that is not adapted, not air conditioned, old and where the heat is overwhelming.”
theprint.in
“It’s absurd that there are no refrigerators in cells, it’s absurd that there aren’t fans everywhere, it’s absurd, for example, that inmates have to spend 20 hours (a day) in their cells.”
theprint.in
Sources
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