The Minister of Justice, Jean-Jacques Urvoas, during his visit to Nice, has given an ultimatum to local officials to select a site by Christmas to expand the Nice detention center, as the current one is outdated and among the most overcrowded in France.
The Nice detention center, built in 1887 for a theoretical capacity of 300 inmates, currently houses 670, with some sleeping on mattresses on the floor, particularly in the women’s section.
However, while everyone agrees on the analysis, when it comes to implementing the solution… that’s a different story.
No one wants a new site in their municipality or nearby, as it certainly will not enhance the neighborhood.
The scenario is well-known: as soon as a proposal is made, resident associations raise their arms to the sky, raise their voices, and threaten to punish their mayor at the polls at the first opportunity.
The latest example is Saint-Laurent du Var, which strongly opposes a location in the Iscles area, which was indicated by a technical commission.
“In Nice, people have talked about building a prison for 25 years, and 14 sites have been studied,” the Minister of Justice recalled. “And we are in a very paradoxical situation where local officials say ‘we want a new penitentiary facility but can’t find a site for it’.”
This statement shifts the responsibility back to local officials, which did not please Christian Estrosi at all, for whom the very term “socialist government” has the effect of a muleta on a bull.
The Minister of Justice had barely returned to Paris when the local leader accused him of “imposture.”
According to him, it is the government that is behind in decision-making. He had already proposed the solution, which is the renovation and expansion of the current building.
“On September 16, 2014, the Prefect of Alpes Maritimes informed me by letter that the ministry was positively acknowledging my stance. Two years later, not only has the government done nothing, but it is also deflecting its own responsibility onto our local authorities.”
The following comment is particularly biting: “Once again, the government seeks to shirk its responsibilities onto local authorities. This has been the Hollande government’s method since the beginning of its term. What is the purpose of the State in our country if it no longer wants to assume responsibility in managing penitentiary institutions? What does the government manage in our country?”
As for him, he had already anticipated the problem: “I remind you that in my regional program, I announced the creation of a regional fund with 250 million euros over the mandate period as part of a security pact with the State. This is the fund that the region will mobilize to help bring the Nice prison project to fruition.
Conclusion: “I sent a letter today to Mr. Urvouas to remind him of the proposals we have already made in order to obtain a decision on these proposals. I am at his disposal to establish with him the implementation modalities,” he declared with the tenacity that characterizes him.
The meeting is therefore (almost) set!
