France plans Supermax prison near the devil's island colony

France plans Supermax prison near the devil's island colony

France plans to build a new high-security prison in the Amazon rainforest, near the notorious criminal camp Île du Diable, which served as a backdrop for the film "Papillon" with Steve McQqueen in 1973. The French Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin announced during a visit to French Establishment Dangerous drug bosses and radical Islamists are to be accommodated.

planned location and capacity

The prison is built in Saint-Laurent-Du-Maroni, on the border of French Guayana to Suriname. There is space for 500 inmates, including 60 high -security inmates. Darmanin emphasized that the new prison should help reduce the overpopulation in the correctional facilities of French Guayanas and to react to the growing threat from drug trafficking in the region.

drug trafficking and security situation

French Guayana is an important transit country for South American cocaine on the way to the markets in Europe. According to the Darmanin, the area has a murder rate of 18.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the rate in mainland freichter is only 1.2 per 100,000, which is due to serious conflicts between organized criminal gangs.

The call for more security

"Citizens in overseas areas have to enjoy the same security standard as those in the mainland freichenreich," said Darmanin. The minister pointed out that high -ranking criminals are able to corrupt civil servants with their illegal income and to continue their business even out of prison.

Current prison situation

In French Guayana and other French overseas areas, 49 high-ranking drug dealers have already been imprisoned, which according to Darmanin are considered "extremely dangerous" and are not recorded under reasonable security conditions.

costs and controversy

The entire construction complex, which will also include a court, is expected to cost 400 million euros ($ 451 million), as Darmanin announced on Sunday in a Facebook post. For some people, the announcement of the planned prison awakens disturbing memories of the criminal colony of Cayenne, better known as Île du Diable, which housed French prisoners until 1953. This place was notorious for its inhumane conditions and inspired both novels and films, including the well -known work "Papillon".

CNN asked the French Ministry of Justice for a statement.