Fleury-Mérogis Prison

Large prison in France

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Fleury-Mérogis Prison


Location	Fleury-Mérogis, France
Status	Operational
Capacity	2,855
Population	4,300+ (as of 2018)
Opened	1968
Managed by	Ministry of Justice
Country	France
Website	Official website

Fleury-Mérogis Prison (Maison d'arrêt de Fleury-Mérogis) is a prison in France, located in the town of Fleury-Mérogis, in the southern suburbs of Paris. With more than 4,100 prisoners, it is the largest prison in Europe.^[1]^[2] It is operated by the Ministry of Justice.

Fleury-Mérogis is notorious as a leading center of Islamist radicalization in European prisons.^[3]^[4]^[5]

History

Built between 1964 and 1968, the 180 hectare complex of Fleury-Mérogis comprises four entities:

a large men's jail;
a smaller women's jail;
a juveniles' jail;
Gendarmerie barracks.

The main prison is formed by a polygonal central building from which radiate five blocks, each one consisting of three wings with four levels of cells. Each block has a capacity of 900 prisoners.

Fleury-Mérogis is one of the three main prisons of the Paris area, the Fresnes Prison (the second largest in France) and the La Santé Prison (located in the centre of Paris) being the other two.

Characteristics

There is wire surrounding the top of the building, preventing helicopter and other possible escapes. The bottom of the building is enclosed with trash that the prisoners have thrown.^[6]

While overcrowded (at 143% capacity as of 2018^[update], with over 4,300 inmates),^[7] Fleury-Mérogis is still under less population stress than other locations such as Fresnes Prison and Villepinte Prison.^[8]

Notable inmates

Infamous and notable past and present prisoners include:

Salah Abdeslam (connected to the planning of the November 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Brussels bombings)
Joëlle Aubron (member of Action directe revolutionary group)
Djamel Beghal^[9]
Georges Cipriani (member of Action directe revolutionary group)
Amedy Coulibaly (one of three perpetrators of the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks)
Christine Deviers-Joncour (protagonist of the Elf scandal)
Hassan Diab (sociologist) (accused of first degree murder in 1980 Paris synagogue bombing, charges dropped, and released)^[10]
JoeyStarr (sentenced for six months)
Herve Ryssen (Herve Lalin) far right commentator.
Chérif Kouachi (connected to the planning of the November 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Brussels bombings)
Saad Lamjarred (accused of rape of a 20-year old woman)^[11]
Jacques Mesrine (one of France's most notorious criminals)
David Noakes British citizen and promoter of the unproven therapy GcMAF
Thierry Paulin
Petr Pavlensky (held while awaiting trial for political performance art resulting in property damage)
Pascal Payet (Paroled in April 2019)
Sinik (sentenced four times)
Zouzou (for recreational drug use)

Notes

^ "Inside Europe's largest prison". BBC News. 18 March 2008.
^ "LE CENTRE PENITENTIAIRE, LA PLUS GRANDE PRISON D’EUROPE." Fleury-Mérogis. Retrieved on 6 May 2010.
^ Bisserbe, Noemie (31 July 2016). "European Prisons Fueling Spread of Islamic Radicalism". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
^ Bremner, Charles (23 August 2016). "Jihadists plot terror from French jail". Times of London. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
^ Birnbaum, Michael (January 28, 2015). "French prisons, long hotbeds of radical Islam, get new scrutiny after Paris attacks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
^ "Inside Europe's largest prison". Website. BBC News. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
^ Willsher, Kim (19 Jan 2018). "French police clash with striking guards at Europe's largest prison". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
^ "Record number of suicides in France's largest prison". RFI. 2018-08-08. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
^ Chrisafis, Angelique (12 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo attackers: born, raised and radicalised in Paris". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
^ Cobb, Christopher (17 January 2018). "Exclusive: 'I feel so wonderful,' Diab discusses reuniting with family, release from French prison". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
^ "Saad Lamjarred to Appear in Court Next Friday".