Prison: a prisoner's family, social and civic rights

Verified 21 November 2023 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)

Expansion of the social rights of prisoners

Published on 19 January 2023

The Ordinance of 19 October 2022 on the social rights of detained persons strengthens the social protection of prisoners who work or receive vocational training in prison.

A decree should specify how the social security contributions of prisoners working in prison are to be paid.

In the meantime, the information presented on this page remains valid.

A detained person has family rights: for example, they can get married or get an exit permit in the event of the death of a relative. She also has social and civil rights: for example, she can vote in elections. These rights may vary depending on whether the person is in pre-trial detention or is already convicted.

Sentenced person

Marriage of a convicted person

The detainee still has the right to marry.

Marriage must in principle be performed in prison on the authorization of the public prosecutor. In this case, the future spouse of the detained person and the marriage witnesses must all apply for a visiting permit to be able to enter the prison.

The ceremony may also take place outside, in a town hall, in particular that of the commune where the future spouse resides in freedom.

To do this, the person in custody must obtain a temporary absence from the sentencing judge.

This right shall be available only to prisoners sentenced to a final sentence and whose criminal situation corresponds to one of the following:

  • Sentence to one or more sentences totaling up to 1 year
  • Sentence to one or more sentences totaling more than one year, after serving half of the sentence, with a remaining period of detention of less than three years
  • Sentence to one or more sentences totaling more than one year, after serving one third of their sentence if incarcerated in a detention center
  • Sentenced person incarcerated in a center or neighborhood for managed sentences

If the judge refuses to grant an exit permit, the detained person may appeal within 24 hours after the notification of the decision.

The appeal must be filed with the court of appeal on which the judge who made the initial decision depends.

Who shall I contact

Parental authority

If the detained person has not been deprived of parental authority pronounced at the time of the judgment convicting him or on one occasion, he shall retain parental authority on her children.

She continues to be responsible for their education and can make decisions about them.

The detained person has the right to recognize his or her child. A registrar of the municipality on which the establishment depends may go to the municipality to have it sign the recognition of paternity or maternity.

The prisoner concerned must make the request to the registrar responsible for the prison.

He may also contact the prison's insertion and probation counselor or social welfare office to forward his request to the registrar.

The registrar will apply to the public prosecutor for permission to move the civil registers to prison.

Sickness or death of a loved one

The convicted detainee may be granted a temporary absence if a relative is seriously ill or has died.

She will then be able to go to the hospital or the funeral.

Permission is granted by the sentencing judge.

This right is granted to every inmate except one who has been sentenced to more than 5 years, less than half of which has been served.

Upon release, the detainee is released and must return to prison voluntarily within the time allowed.

This period must be less than or equal to 3 days.

It may be extended if the place to which the inmate is to go is far from the prison.

The exit can only take place in France.

A convicted detainee who does not qualify for an ETA may exceptionally apply for an ETA.

The person will be monitored throughout the trip and may be permanently handcuffed.

This measure is granted by the sentencing judge.

The request must be addressed to him in writing.

Who shall I contact

The escort is made up of prison surveillance staff, police officers or gendarmes. For greater discretion, the judge may exempt these officers from wearing the uniform.

FYI  

if the judge refuses to grant leave to leave, the detainee cannot appeal. This decision is final.

Maternity

Women prisoners can keep their children in prison up to the age of 18 months.

Mothers and their children are accommodated in specially designed spaces in the prison. If the mother is a accused person, its transfer to an establishment with such premises requires the agreement of the magistrate responsible for the proceedings.

If the child needs urgent medical careHowever, her mother may be allowed to accompany her to the hospital.

The decision shall be taken by the head of the penitentiary institution, taking into account the following:

  • Constraints related to the prison regime or to the maintenance of security and order in the institution
  • Probability that the mother will make news infringements
  • Protection of the interests of victims

If the mother is a accused person, the head of the prison must inform the magistrate in charge of the judicial case.

If a mother wants to keep her child with her beyond 18 months, she must apply to her insertion and probation counselor.

The request shall be forwarded to the Interregional Director of Prison Services.

The Interregional Director of Prison Services shall take a decision after obtaining the opinion of an advisory committee composed as follows:

  • Interregional Director of Prison Services or its representative, President
  • 1 psychiatrist
  • 1 pediatric physician from a maternal and child protection unit
  • 1 psychologist
  • 1 head of penitentiary institution specifically assigned to the detention of women
  • 1 member of the insertion and probation staff

Before issuing its opinion, the commission must hear the mother or her lawyer, and any other person having parental authority or her lawyer.

After 18 months of the child, the penitentiary service for insertion and probation organizes the separation of the child from his mother. During the 12 months following his departure, the child may be admitted to short stays with his mother in prison.

Detainees have access to social rights like everyone else, except for adaptations provided for in the texts.

Right to be informed

Detainees have the right to information about their social rights during their incarceration, so as to facilitate their reintegration.

This information is given to them by their insertion and probation counselor.

Health insurance

The person imprisoned shall be covered by the general social security scheme.

The take-over takes place from the date of its placing under nut.

However, if he pursues a professional activity, that activity is covered by the sickness insurance scheme to which that activity belongs.

The imprisoned person shall be entitled to third-party : she therefore has no fees to advance on presentation of her certificate of rights or her updated Vitale card.

It may apply for complementary health solidarity (CSS).

Please note

there is no procedure to be carried out with the Health Insurance. It is the penitentiary which, using the information provided at the time of the lockdown, will carry out the procedures.

In-kind and financial assistance

Detainees who lack sufficient resources are eligible for in-kind and financial assistance from the State.

Aid in kind

The aid in kind shall be granted to detained persons who fulfill all of the following conditions:

  • Available share of registered account in the month preceding the current month less than €100
  • Available share of registered account during current month less than €100
  • Current month cumulative expenditure amount less than €100

FYI  

the available share of the nominative account of the previous month is not taken into account during the 1er months in prison.

Financial assistance

Financial assistance shall be granted to prisoners who fulfill all the necessary conditions:

  • Available share of registered account in the month preceding the current month less than €60
  • Available share of registered account during current month less than €60
  • Current month cumulative expenditure amount less than €60

FYI  

the available share of the nominative account of the previous month is not taken into account during the 1er months in prison.

The in-kind and financial assistance is awarded by the prison administration.

When examining the application, the administration shall take into account the aid received by the detained person from any natural or legal person authorized to provide support to the detained persons.

Social benefits

Detainees have access to social benefits like everyone else (family allowances, solidarity allowance for the elderly, etc.) unless the texts provide for an adjustment or restriction (RSA: titleContent, housing allowances, etc.).

Insertion and probation counselors provide information on this subject, but detainees can also consult the guide to social rights accessible to persons in custody.

Accommodation - Accommodation

Requests for accommodation and suitable accommodation for prison leavers should be addressed to the Integrated Reception and Orientation Service (IACIS).

This service coordinates, in conjunction with the Prison Integration and Probation Services (SPIP), actions for the accommodation and access to housing of persons leaving detention or placed outside the prison.

A prisoner who has not been definitively sentenced to a civil rights ban may vote:

  • Either by correspondence
  • Either by proxy
  • Or by going to the polling station

But in order to vote, he must be registered to vote.

An inmate may apply to be registered to vote, or to change his registration (for example, to change polling places).

You can register throughout the year.

But to vote in a particular election, you must meet a deadline.

The registration rules differ according to the form of the vote:

Voting by mail
Which voters list to register on?

In order to vote by mail, the inmate must apply to be registered on the electoral roll of the commune in which the prison is located. The inmate must provide the following 2 documents:

  • Attestation on the honor, which must include his name and forenames, his date and place of birth, his link with the commune, his signature, the stamp of the prison
  • Proof of identity and nationality. If the inmate does not have proof, the prison director may exceptionally provide a document attesting to the inmate's identity.
How to vote?

Voting by mail takes place in the prison, before the date of the election or referendum (at the latest the Saturday before).

Before the vote, the prison director shall hand over to the detainee concerned the following documents:

  • Election leaflets (no later than the Wednesday before the election or referendum)
  • Identification envelope
  • Election Envelope

On the day of the vote in the prison, the director verifies the identity of the inmate who voted.

The inmate elector puts his or her ballot into the electoral envelope. It must take place in a place out of sight.

Then, the inmate elector puts in the identification envelope 

  • the electoral envelope
  • and proof of identity and nationality (copy of an identity document or certificate issued by the prison director).

He seals his identification envelope and indicates his first and last names, place of detention and nut number.

FYI  

once the identification envelope has been sealed, the voter can no longer reconsider his vote.

The inmate who elects then delivers his identification envelope to the prison director and signs the list of voters.

Information on electoral rights

The prison director must inform the inmate who has the right to vote, or who will be of voting age on the day of the vote, of the forms of the vote (by correspondence, by proxy, at the polling station).

They must also inform them of how to register to vote.

They must do so within 15 days of the inmate's incarceration.

FYI  

the director must provide him with the necessary means to register and to gather the required supporting documents.

Proxy voting
How do I vote by proxy?

The inmate may vote by proxy:

  • when he did not ask for permission to leave for one day to vote at the polling station
  • or where permission has been denied.

To do so, it must to appoint a voter (registered in the same commune) who will go to the polling station to vote for him the day of the election or referendum.

The inmate must apply to the prison registry

  • the issue of an extract from the register of the nut justifying his inability to go to a polling station
  • and a police officer to certify the power of attorney.
How do I register to vote?

As a prisoner, it is possible to apply to be registered on the electoral list of one of the following municipalities:

  • Municipality of the home
  • Municipality of his last residence of at least 6 months
  • Municipality of birth
  • Municipality in which one of its members was born, is registered or has been registered on the electoral list ascendants
  • Municipality on the electoral list of which her spouse or partner is registered Civil partnerships: titleContent or common-law partner
  • Municipality on the electoral list of which one of its members is registered or has been registered parents up to the 4th degree

To do so, the inmate must provide one of the following documents:

  • Proof of domicile or residence
  • Attestation on the honor of the detainee. It must contain his name and forenames, his date and place of birth, his link with the commune, his signature, the stamp of the prison.

The inmate must also provide a proof of identity and nationality. If the inmate does not have proof, the prison director may exceptionally provide a document attesting to the inmate's identity.

Information on electoral rights

The prison director must inform the inmate who has the right to vote, or who will be of voting age on the day of the vote, of the forms of the vote (by correspondence, by proxy, at the polling station).

They must also inform them of how to register to vote.

They must do so within 15 days of the inmate's incarceration.

FYI  

the director must provide him with the necessary means to register and to gather the required supporting documents.

Voting at the polling station
How do I get to the polling station?

To vote at the polling station, the inmate must ask the sentencing judge for permission to leave for one day to vote.

FYI  

such permission shall be denied to a person sentenced to more than five years' imprisonment, until he has completed half of the sentence.

How do I register to vote?

As a prisoner, it is possible to apply to be registered on the electoral list of one of the following municipalities:

  • Municipality of the home
  • Municipality of his last residence of at least 6 months
  • Municipality of birth
  • Municipality in which one of its members was born, is registered or has been registered on the electoral list ascendants
  • Municipality on the electoral list of which her spouse or partner is registered Civil partnerships: titleContent or common-law partner
  • Municipality on the electoral list of which one of its members is registered or has been registered parents up to the 4th degree

To do so, the inmate must provide one of the following 2 documents:

  • Proof of domicile or residence
  • Attestation on the honor of the detainee. It must contain his name and forenames, his date and place of birth, his link with the commune, his signature, the stamp of the prison.

The inmate must also provide a proof of identity and nationality. If the inmate does not have proof, the prison director may exceptionally provide a document attesting to the inmate's identity.

Information on electoral rights

The prison director must inform the inmate who has the right to vote, or who will be of voting age on the day of the vote, of the forms of the vote (by correspondence, by proxy, at the polling station).

They must also inform them of how to register to vote.

They must do so within 15 days of the inmate's incarceration.

FYI  

the director must provide him with the necessary means to register and to gather the required supporting documents.

The detained person may refer the matter to one of the following:

  • Prison Administration (Institution Directorate, Interregional Directorate of Prison Services or Directorate of Prison Administration)
  • Controller-General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty in respect of any matter concerning facts concerning the state, organization or functioning of the prison establishment, the care or transfer of a detained person or the violation of one of his fundamental rights
  • Defender of Rights for any questions concerning compliance with safety ethics (behavior of supervisors)
  • Administrative Tribunal to challenge the decisions taken by the prison administration against him

Pre-trial detainee

Marriage of a person in pre-trial detention

A detainee still has the right to marry.

It must seek the authorization of the public prosecutor for marriage to be celebrated in the penitentiary.

The future spouse of the detained person and the marriage witnesses must all apply for a visiting permit to be able to enter the prison.

FYI  

persons held in pre-trial detention who have not been definitively convicted cannot marry outside the prison.

Parental authority

If the detained person has not been deprived of parental authority pronounced at the time of the judgment convicting him or on one occasion, he shall retain parental authority on her children.

She continues to be responsible for their education and can make decisions about them.

The detained person has the right to recognize his or her child. A registrar of the municipality on which the establishment depends may go to the municipality to have it sign the recognition of paternity or maternity.

The prisoner concerned must make the request to the registrar responsible for the prison.

He may also contact the prison's insertion and probation counselor or social welfare office to forward his request to the registrar.

The registrar will apply to the public prosecutor for permission to move the civil registers to prison.

Sickness or death of a loved one

In the event of the illness or death of a relative, the detained person may, exceptionally, apply to the investigating judge in charge of his case for an escorted temporary absence.

If the authorization is granted, the inmate will be monitored and may be permanently handcuffed.

The application must be addressed directly to the judge.

Who shall I contact

The escort is made up of prison guards, police or gendarmes. For greater discretion, the judge may exempt these officers from wearing the uniform.

FYI  

if the judge refuses, the detainee cannot appeal. This decision is final.

Maternity

Women prisoners can keep their children in prison up to the age of 18 months.

Mothers and their children are accommodated in specially designed spaces in the prison. If the mother is a accused person, its transfer to an establishment with such premises requires the agreement of the magistrate responsible for the proceedings.

If the child needs urgent medical careHowever, her mother may be allowed to accompany her to the hospital.

The decision shall be taken by the head of the penitentiary institution, taking into account the following:

  • Constraints related to the prison regime or to the maintenance of security and order in the institution
  • Probability that the mother will make news infringements
  • Protection of the interests of victims

If the mother is a accused person, the head of the prison must inform the magistrate in charge of the judicial case.

If a mother wants to keep her child with her beyond 18 months, she must apply to her insertion and probation counselor.

The request shall be forwarded to the Interregional Director of Prison Services.

The Interregional Director of Prison Services shall take a decision after obtaining the opinion of an advisory committee composed as follows:

  • Interregional Director of Prison Services or its representative, President
  • 1 psychiatrist
  • 1 pediatric physician from a maternal and child protection unit
  • 1 psychologist
  • 1 head of penitentiary institution specifically assigned to the detention of women
  • 1 member of the insertion and probation staff

Before issuing its opinion, the commission must hear the mother or her lawyer, and any other person having parental authority or her lawyer.

After 18 months of the child, the penitentiary service for insertion and probation organizes the separation of the child from his mother. During the 12 months following his departure, the child may be admitted to short stays with his mother in prison.

Detainees have access to social rights on the same terms as everyone else, except for adaptations provided for in the legislation.

Right to be informed

Detainees have the right to information about their social rights during their incarceration, so as to facilitate their reintegration.

This information is given to them by their insertion and probation counselor.

Health insurance

The person imprisoned shall be covered by the general social security scheme.

The take-over takes place from the date of its placing under nut.

However, if he pursues a professional activity, that activity is covered by the sickness insurance scheme to which that activity belongs.

The imprisoned person shall be entitled to third-party : she therefore has no fees to advance on presentation of her certificate of rights or her updated Vitale card.

It may apply for complementary health solidarity (CSS).

Please note

there is no procedure to be carried out with the Health Insurance. It is the penitentiary which, using the information provided at the time of the lockdown, will carry out the procedures.

In-kind and financial assistance

Detainees who lack sufficient resources are eligible for in-kind and financial assistance from the State.

Aid in kind

The aid in kind shall be granted to detained persons who fulfill all of the following conditions:

  • Available share of registered account in the month preceding the current month less than €100
  • Available share of registered account during current month less than €100
  • Current month cumulative expenditure amount less than €100

FYI  

the available share of the nominative account of the previous month is not taken into account during the 1er months in prison.

Financial assistance

Financial assistance shall be granted to prisoners who fulfill all the necessary conditions:

  • Available share of registered account in the month preceding the current month less than €60
  • Available share of registered account during current month less than €60
  • Current month cumulative expenditure amount less than €60

FYI  

the available share of the nominative account of the previous month is not taken into account during the 1er months in prison.

The in-kind and financial assistance is awarded by the prison administration.

When examining the application, the administration shall take into account the aid received by the detained person from any natural or legal person authorized to provide support to the detained persons.

Social benefits

Detainees have access to social benefits like everyone else (family allowances, solidarity allowance for the elderly, etc.) unless the texts provide for an adjustment or restriction (RSA: titleContent, housing allowances, etc.).

Insertion and probation counselors provide information on this subject, but detainees can also consult the guide to social rights accessible to persons in custody.

Accommodation - Accommodation

Requests for accommodation and suitable accommodation for prison leavers should be addressed to the Integrated Reception and Orientation Service (IACIS).

This service coordinates, in conjunction with the Prison Integration and Probation Services (SPIP), actions for the accommodation and access to housing of persons leaving detention or placed outside the prison.

A prisoner who has not been definitively sentenced to a civil rights ban may vote by proxy or by mail.

But in order to vote, he must be registered to vote.

An inmate may apply to be registered to vote.

You can register throughout the year.

But to vote in a particular election, you must meet a deadline.

The registration rules differ according to the form of the vote:

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Proxy voting

How do I vote by proxy?

The inmate may vote by proxy:

  • when he did not ask for permission to leave for one day to vote at the polling station
  • or where permission has been denied.

To do so, it must to appoint a voter (registered in the same commune) who will go to the polling station to vote for him the day of the election or referendum.

The inmate must apply to the prison registry to ask:

  • the issue of an extract from the register of the nut justifying his inability to go to a polling station
  • and a police officer to certify the power of attorney.
How do I register to vote?

As a prisoner, it is possible to apply to be registered on the electoral list of one of the following municipalities:

  • Municipality of the home
  • Municipality of his last residence of at least 6 months
  • Municipality of birth
  • Municipality in which one of its members was born, is registered or has been registered on the electoral list ascendants
  • Municipality on the electoral list of which her spouse or partner is registered Civil partnerships: titleContent or common-law partner
  • Municipality on the electoral list of which one of its members is registered or has been registered parents up to the 4th degree

To do so, the inmate must provide one of the following documents:

  • Proof of domicile or residence
  • Attestation on the honor of the detainee. It must contain his name and forenames, his date and place of birth, his link with the commune, his signature, the stamp of the prison.

The inmate must also provide a proof of identity and nationality. If the inmate does not have proof, the prison director may exceptionally provide a document attesting to the inmate's identity.

Information on electoral rights

The prison director must inform the inmate who has the right to vote, or who will be of voting age on the day of the vote, of the forms of the vote (by correspondence, by proxy, at the polling station).

They must also inform them of how to register to vote.

They must do so within 15 days of the inmate's incarceration.

FYI  

the director must provide him with the necessary means to register and to gather the required supporting documents.

Voting by mail

Which voters list to register on?

In order to vote by mail, the inmate must apply to be registered on the electoral roll of the commune in which the prison is located. The inmate must provide the following 2 documents:

  • Attestation on the honor, which must include his name and forenames, his date and place of birth, his link with the commune, his signature, the stamp of the prison.
  • Proof of identity and nationality. If the inmate does not have proof, the prison director may exceptionally provide a document attesting to the inmate's identity.
How to vote?

Voting by mail takes place in the prison, before the date of the election or referendum (at the latest the Saturday before).

Before the vote, the prison director shall hand over to the detainee concerned the following documents:

  • Election leaflets (no later than the Wednesday before the election or referendum)
  • Identification envelope
  • Election Envelope

On the day of the vote in the prison, the director verifies the identity of the inmate who voted.

The inmate elector puts his or her ballot into the electoral envelope. It must take place in a place out of sight.

Then, the inmate elector puts in the identification envelope 

  • the electoral envelope
  • and proof of identity and nationality (copy of an identity document or certificate issued by the prison director).

He seals his identification envelope and indicates his first and last names, place of detention and nut number.

FYI  

once the identification envelope has been sealed, the voter can no longer reconsider his vote.

The inmate who elects then delivers his identification envelope to the prison director and signs the list of voters.

Information on electoral rights

The prison director must inform the inmate who has the right to vote, or who will be of voting age on the day of the vote, of the forms of the vote (by correspondence, by proxy, at the polling station).

They must also inform them of how to register to vote.

They must do so within 15 days of the inmate's incarceration.

FYI  

the director must provide him with the necessary means to register and to gather the required supporting documents.

The detained person may refer the matter to one of the following:

  • Prison Administration (Institution Directorate, Interregional Directorate of Prison Services or Directorate of Prison Administration)
  • Controller-General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty in respect of any matter concerning facts concerning the state, organization or functioning of the prison establishment, the care or transfer of a detained person or the violation of one of his fundamental rights
  • Defender of Rights for any questions concerning compliance with safety ethics (behavior of supervisors)
  • Administrative Tribunal to challenge the decisions taken by the prison administration against him

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