On March 6, Gérald Darmanin announced to the French the creation of a high security prison in Vendin-le-Vieil, in Pas-de-Calais. The Minister of Justice then indicated that the latter would be operational on July 31, that is to say this Thursday.
Successful bet for the Keeper of the Seals. Announced last March by Gérald Darmanin, High Security Prison of Vendin-le-Vieil, in Pas-de-Calais, officially entered this Thursday, July 31.
Since May-June the first detainees have been transferred to this new kind of establishment, which must eventually welcome a hundred prisoners among the most dangerous in France to isolation.
This Wednesday, 11 new detainees were also transferred from the southwest of France to Vendin-le-Vieil.
A complex operation that was done with the support of the French army to avoid any risk of escape and protect prison staff as much as possible.
Indeed, the transport of these very special prisoners, which must continue until the beginning of August, is one of the major challenges of this new high security prison.
A specific incarceration regime
The genesis of the latter is intimately linked to the escape of drug traffickers Mohammed Amra during which two agents lost their lives. In order to prevent this from happening again, the Minister of Justice had then launched this project to isolate the most dangerous criminals and assign them to a specific prison regime.
Fight against drug trafficking: a new step taken.
The High Security Prison of Vendin-le-Vieil has entered service.
The first transfers began and by early August, the 100 most dangerous narcocriminals in France will be imprisoned.
– Ministry of Justice (@justice_gouv) July 30, 2025
Thus, the prisoners will have access to a phone within the limit of four hours of weekly communication and the visits will be strictly framed and subject to the presence of a separation wall to avoid the entrance to smuggling in the building.
In addition, the ratio of penitentiary agents per 100 prisoners has been widely increased, from 20 to 250 in order to avoid any possibility of corruption.
A second high security prison, the twin of Vendin-le-Vieil, will welcome another hundred dangerous criminals in Condé-sur-Sarthe under the same conditions. The latter must be operational by October 15.
Invited on CNews this Wednesday evening, Gérald Darmanin said he “accelerated the construction of 1,400 prison places”, which will be released “before the end of the year”.