Baumettes prison (also known as the Centre pénitentiaire de Marseille) is a prison in the 9th arrondissement of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

Location

The prison is named after the district of Les Baumettes. It is located at 239, chemin de Morgiou, in the 9th arrondissement of

.French Ministry of Justice: Marseille: Etablissement pénitentiaire - centre pénitentiaire
/ref> This area was outside the city but has been absorbed as the city expanded.

History

It was built from 1933 to 1939. It contains sculptures designed by

Antoine Sartorio Antoine Sartorio (27 January 1885, Menton – 19 February 1988, Jouques) was a French sculptor. Brief biography Antoine Sartorio was born in Menton on 27 January 1885 and died in Jouques on 19 February 1988. He studied at the École des Beaux-A ...

. It opened in 1936, as three inner city jails were closed down. The prison covers some 30,000 m². It contains 1,380 cells housing approximately 1,700 prisoners, mostly men, around a quarter of whom are not French. The site includes a unit for juvenile offenders, another for female prisoners, and a prison hospital. A 10-year renovation project started in 2006. The project will cost approximately

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133 million to improve standards of hygiene, safety and security. The first phase, from 2006 to 2010, involved renovations to the main entrances, watchtowers, visiting rooms, and the construction of a new mess hall and workshops. The prisoners' accommodation was renovated from 2009. Three of the last four executions in France took place in Baumettes: Ali Benyanès in 1973, Christian Ranucci on 28 July 1976 and the last,

Hamida Djandoubi Hamida Djandoubi ( ar, حميدة جندوبي, Ḥamīda Jandūbī; 22 September 1949 – 10 September 1977) was a Tunisian convicted murderer sentenced to death in France. He moved to Marseille in 1968, and six years later he kidnapped, torture ...

, on 10 September 1977. In January 2015, '' La Provence'' revealed that pictures of inmates with "cash, dope and mobile phones" were uploaded to a

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page.Henry Samuel
French prison guards warn Marseille jail has become a 'holiday camp'
''The Daily Telegraph'', January 6, 2015 After the page was closed down by the authorities, another page was created, with similar pictures, but hooded inmates. Prison wardens admitted they were understaffed. Politician Eric Ciotti called for a "

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" for French prisons.

Notable inmates

Anne Beaumanoir Anne Beaumanoir (30 October 1923 – 4 March 2022) was a French neurophysiologist. For her aid to Jews in Brittany during the Second World War, she as well as her parents were recognised as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. A militant ...

(1923-2022), neuropsychologist; sentenced for supporting the FLN * Robert Bonnaud (1929-2013), historian; jailed for supporting Algerian nationalists; served two months * Charles Debbasch (1937-2022), jurist; sentenced to two years for several charges *

(1949-1977), murderer; executed at the prison * Louisette Ighilahriz (born 1936), writer; captured and sent to several prisons *

Georges Journois Georges Henri Journois (13 November 1896 – 26 September 1944) was a French resistance fighter and Brigadier General who died in a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Early life Journois was born on 13 Nov ...

(1896-1944), French resistance fighter; was evacuated to Belfort * Albert Millet (1929-2007), serial killer; served some of his sentence at the prison *Jacques Trolley de Prévaux (1888-1944), navy officer; was arrested by the Gestapo and briefly held at the prison * Christian Ranucci (1954-1976), murderer; executed at the prison *Charles Skepper (1905-c.1944), SOE operative; was tortured at the prison *Arthur Steele (SOE agent), Arthur Steele (1921-1944), SOE operative; was tortured at the prison *Irene Wosikowski (1910-1944), activist; released in 1941

References

{{Coord, 43, 14, 0, N, 5, 24, 50, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title 9th arrondissement of Marseille Prisons in France Buildings and structures in Marseille 1936 establishments in France Buildings and structures completed in 1939