‘Like working in a kettle’: France’s overcrowded prisons swelter under historic heatwave

France's chronically overcrowded prisons are facing dangerous conditions as a historic heatwave grips the country. According to France 24, cells designed for one inmate are now holding three or four detainees in airless spaces. Prison workers describe conditions as intolerable, and analysts say the crisis reflects a broader reliance on mass incarceration as a crime-fighting strategy, renewing calls for systemic reform.

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