Fleury-Mérogis Prison (''Maison d'arrêt de Fleury-Mérogis'') is a prison in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
, located in the town of
Fleury-Mérogis
Fleury-Mérogis () is a commune in the Essonne department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division ...
, in the southern suburbs of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
. With more than 4,100 prisoners, it is the largest prison in France. It is operated by the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
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
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
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
Fresnes Prison (''French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a small ...
(the second largest in France) and the
La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) (french: Maison d'arrêt de la Santé or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the 14 ...
(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.
While overcrowded (at 143% capacity , with over 4,300 inmates), Fleury-Mérogis is still under less population stress than other locations such as
Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison (''French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a small ...
Infamous and notable past and present prisoners include:
* Salah Abdeslam (connected to the planning of the
November 2015 Paris attacks
The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bomber ...
and the
2016 Brussels bombings
On 22 March 2016, two coordinated terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium were carried out by the Islamic State. Three coordinated suicide bombings occurred: two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station on the Brussels ...
Action directe
''Action Directe'' (; AD, "direct action") was a French far-left militant group which committed a series of assassinations and violent attacks in France between 1979 and 1987. Members of Action directe considered themselves libertarian commu ...
revolutionary group)
*
Djamel Beghal
Djamel Beghal (also transliterated as Jamel Beghal and Djamel Begal) ( ar, جمال بغال; born December 2nd 1965 in Bordj Bou Arréridj, Algeria) is an Algerian terrorist convict.Georges Cipriani (member of
Action directe
''Action Directe'' (; AD, "direct action") was a French far-left militant group which committed a series of assassinations and violent attacks in France between 1979 and 1987. Members of Action directe considered themselves libertarian commu ...
revolutionary group)
*
Amedy Coulibaly
Amedy Coulibaly (; 27 February 1982 – 9 January 2015) was a Malian-French man who was the prime suspect in the Montrouge shooting, in which municipal police officer Clarissa Jean-Philippe was shot and killed, and was the hostage-taker and g ...
(one of three perpetrators of the
January 2015 Île-de-France attacks
From 7 to 9 January 2015, terrorist attacks occurred across the Île-de-France region, particularly in Paris. Three attackers killed a total of 17 in four shooting attacks, and police then killed the three assailants. The attacks also wounded 22 ...
Hassan Diab (sociologist)
Hassan N. Diab ( ar, حسن دياب; born November 20, 1953) is a Lebanese-Canadian citizen and sociologist who has been convicted in absentia of having planted the explosive that caused the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing. He has always countered ...
(accused of first degree murder in 1980 Paris synagogue bombing, charges dropped, and released)
* JoeyStarr (sentenced for six months)
* Herve Ryssen (Herve Lalin) far right commentator.
* Chérif Kouachi (connected to the planning of the
November 2015 Paris attacks
The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bomber ...
and the
2016 Brussels bombings
On 22 March 2016, two coordinated terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium were carried out by the Islamic State. Three coordinated suicide bombings occurred: two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station on the Brussels ...
)
*
Saad Lamjarred
Saad Lamjarred ( ar, سعد لمجرد; born 7 April 1985) is a Moroccan singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, record producer and actor. He grew up in an artist family and became famous after his songs broke YouTube audience records, ...
(accused of rape of a 20-year old woman)
*
Jacques Mesrine
Jacques Mesrine (; 28 December 1936 – 2 November 1979) was a French criminal responsible for numerous murders, bank robberies, burglaries, and kidnappings in France, the US, and Canada. Mesrine repeatedly escaped from prison and made ...
(one of France's most notorious criminals)
* David Noakes British citizen and promoter of the unproven therapy GcMAF
* Thierry Paulin
*
Petr Pavlensky
Pyotr (or Petr) Andreyevich Pavlensky (russian: link=no, Пётр Андреевич Павленский; born 8 March 1984) is a Russian contemporary artist. He is known for his controversial political art performances, which he calls "events of ...
(held while awaiting trial for political
performance art
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
resulting in property damage)
*
Pascal Payet
Pascal Payet (born 7 July 1963) is a French criminal who has gained notoriety for his daring prison escapes using hijacked helicopters. He was initially sentenced to a 30-year jail term for a murder committed during the robbery of a security van i ...
(Paroled in April 2019)
*
Sinik
Thomas Gérard Idir (; born 26 June 1980), better known by his stage name Sinik, is a French-language rap artist. He is also known as Malsain, L'assassin and S.I.N.I.K.. His father is Algerian while his mother is French. In 2001, he founded his ...
(sentenced four times)
* Zouzou (for recreational drug use)