The transfer of the first inmates to the high-security prison in Condé-sur-Sarthe (Orne), the second to enter service after the Vendin-le-Vieil prison (Pas-de-Calais), will begin “in the next few hours”announced Tuesday, November 11, Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin.
The Minister of Justice determined in TF1 that“around forty” detainees will be transferred at the end of the month to the anti-organized crime unit (QLCO), which will accommodate “one hundred” total. “Five million euros” invested there, he said.
The aim of the ultra-secure structure is to place prisoners who authorities say come from the high end of the organized crime spectrum in total isolation, according to a regime inspired by the war against the mafia in Italy.
The Justice Minister estimates the number of detainees considered extremely dangerous is around 500 of the 86,000 people currently held in France. This QLCO is supposed to prevent them from communicating with the outside world, for example to continuously manage their traffic.
The first district opened this summer in Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais), where Salah Abdeslam, the sole survivor of the November 13 commandos, and drug trafficker Mohamed Amra were imprisoned. That’s the cost “4 million euros”according to the minister. In a high security district “Vendin-le-Vieil no drones, no cell phones, no USB keys and total security in this place”he congratulated himself.
Another QLCO will open in Réau, in Seine-et-Marne, in June 2026, said Mr. Darmanin. Valence, Aix-en-Provence, then Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, in Guyana, will follow. “at the end of 2028”he added.
