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First Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Is France repeating its colonial past by building a prison in the Amazon? The controversy, explained
France's plan to build a €400 million high-security prison in the Amazonian town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni has triggered fierce backlash from French Guiana's leaders. Touted as a tool against narcotrafficking, the project has revived painful memories of colonial-era penal colonies and left locals asking why they weren't consulted before such a massive decision read more French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to residents (not pictured) at a cafe, during a walk in Cayenne, French Guiana, October 28, 2017. File Image/Reuters A newly announced plan by the French government to build a high-security prison in the heart of the Amazon rainforest in French Guiana has been subject to criticism, putting a spotlight on deep-rooted colonial-era grievances. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin unveiled the project during a recent visit to the French overseas territory, presenting it as a strategic step in France's broader effort to disrupt organised crime, particularly narcotrafficking networks that originate in South America and reach into Europe. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The planned facility will be constructed in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a northwestern border town near Suriname, a region historically associated with France's penal past. Critics have described the move as both politically provocative and historically insensitive, while French authorities maintain it is a necessary and calculated intervention to counter escalating violence and drug crime in the region. What we know about the French prison Darmanin, known for his strict stance on law enforcement from his prior tenure as Interior Minister, said the new prison will play a key role in France's multipronged campaign against narcotics trafficking. In an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche, Darmanin explained, 'My strategy is simple – hit organised crime at all levels.' He added, 'Here in Guiana, at the start of the drug trafficking route. In mainland France, by neutralising the network leaders. And all the way to consumers. This prison will be a safeguard in the war against narcotrafficking.' The facility, which will cost an estimated €400 million (approximately $451 million), is scheduled to open in 2028 and will include 500 inmate slots, of which 60 will be designated for high-security detainees under an 'extremely strict' regime. An additional 15 spots will be allocated specifically for individuals convicted of radical Islamist activities. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni was selected because of its geographical significance as a trafficking corridor. The town is a primary point of departure for drug couriers, particularly those known as 'mules,' many of whom attempt to travel from neighbouring Brazil and Suriname to Paris's Orly Airport, often carrying cocaine internally or in their luggage. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A general view of the Oiapoque river, the border with French Guiana in Oiapoque, in the state of Amapa, Brazil, October 30, 2020. File Image/Reuters The justice minister said placing the prison in such a location would allow France to detain suspects at the earliest link in the supply chain. 'Crucially, the prison's location will serve to permanently isolate the heads of drug trafficking networks since they will no longer be able to contact their criminal networks,' Darmanin said. French prison aimed at tackling organised crime The proposed prison is also meant to alleviate chronic overcrowding in French Guiana's correctional system, which currently struggles to house both local and transferred inmates. Darmanin cited growing threats posed by powerful criminal gangs, saying they are often able to corrupt officials with illicit funds and continue orchestrating criminal activity even from within detention facilities. 'Citizens in overseas territories must be able to have the same level of security as those in mainland France,' the minister said, stating that French Guiana deserves the same level of institutional support and infrastructure as other French departments. According to French authorities, 49 high-level drug traffickers are already in custody in French Guiana and other French overseas territories. Darmanin noted that many of them are 'extremely dangerous' and are not being held under conditions secure enough to prevent continued criminal coordination from prison. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Recent national security legislation introduced by the French government is also part of this wider plan. It includes the creation of a special prosecutorial branch dedicated to tackling organised crime, increased investigative powers, stricter rules for prison visitation and communication, and protection protocols for informants. These reforms follow a string of violent incidents targeting prison infrastructure in mainland France, including attacks where vehicles were set ablaze and gunfire was reported, such as the incident at La Farlede prison in Toulon. Officials believe these assaults were orchestrated in retaliation against the state's tougher measures and may be aimed at intimidating the justice system. How local leaders have reacted The reaction among local political figures has been one of anger and disbelief. Jean-Paul Fereira, acting president of French Guiana's territorial collective, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the lack of prior consultation. 'It is therefore with astonishment and indignation that the elected members of the Collectivity discovered, with the entire population of Guiana, the information detailed in Le Journal Du Dimanche,' he wrote in a post on social media. Fereira stressed that while there is widespread support for stronger crime-fighting initiatives in the region, the original 2017 agreement with the French government outlined the construction of a standard correctional facility, not a high-security installation for France's most dangerous offenders. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'While all local elected officials have long been calling for strong measures to curb the rise of organised crime in our territory, Guiana is not meant to welcome criminals and radicalised people from (mainland France),' Fereira noted. Jean-Victor Castor, a member of the French National Assembly representing French Guiana, also denounced the move. In a written appeal to the French Prime Minister, he described the project as 'an insult to our history, a political provocation and a colonial regression.' Castor called on the government to reconsider and withdraw the plan altogether. What history tell us While the French government maintains the project is a rational response to escalating crime, its announcement has triggered significant backlash in French Guiana due to the region's infamous history as a penal colony. Between 1852 and 1954, France transported 70,000 prisoners to the area, including political detainees such as Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who was wrongfully convicted of espionage and exiled to Devil's Island — part of the now-defunct penal complex. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni was the original disembarkation point for inmates, and many of the old prison structures remain visible today. The region's grim past has been immortalised in literature and film, most famously in Henri Charrière's novel 'Papillon', which was adapted into two Hollywood films, the first in 1973 starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD For many locals, the decision to reintroduce a carceral facility so close to this symbolic site is not only tone-deaf but a reminder of a traumatic legacy. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies
CNA
19-05-2025
- CNA
Paris airport chaos to enter second day after air traffic breakdown
ORLY, France: An air traffic control breakdown at Paris-Orly airport caused the cancellation and delay of hundreds of flights and the aviation authority said the chaos would extend into Monday (May 19). The breakdown hit on Sunday and has affected thousands of passengers with some already sat in planes at the French capital's second biggest airport when flights were cancelled. The control tower breakdown forced the cancellation of about 130 flights in and out of Orly Sunday, officials said. It had not been resolved by late Sunday and the DGAC French civil aviation authority said it was "asking airlines to reduce their flight schedules by 15 percent" on Monday and warned that "delays are expected". "The situation is improving but still requires traffic regulation," the DGAC said. The authority blamed an air traffic control "malfunction". An airport source said there had been a "radar failure". Flights to European and North Africa destinations and across France were among those hit. Long queues formed at terminals amid a frenzied rush to find alternative transport. "We were in the aircraft, all seated and strapped in, ready to go, when they made us disembark and collect our bags ... then began the ordeal," said Azgal Abichou, a 63-year-old business owner. "The only option is a 300 euro flight – and there's only one seat left, but there are two of us and we are not even sure it will take off," said Romane Penault, a 22-year-old student. "So for now, we're going home." Agnes Zilouri, 46, tried desperately to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six-year-old son in the terminal. The family should have taken a flight to Oujda in Morocco on Sunday evening to go to a funeral. "The flight is cancelled. Fortunately I am with my mother," she said.
Arab News
18-05-2025
- Arab News
Paris airport chaos to enter second day after air traffic breakdown
ORLY, France: An air traffic control breakdown at Paris-Orly airport caused the cancelation and delay of hundreds of flights and the aviation authority said the chaos would extend into Monday. The breakdown hit on Sunday and has affected thousands of passengers with some already sat in planes at the French capital's second biggest airport when flights were canceled. The control tower breakdown forced the cancelation of about 130 flights in and out of Orly Sunday, officials said. It had not been resolved by late Sunday and the DGAC French civil aviation authority said it was 'asking airlines to reduce their flight schedules by 15 percent' on Monday and warned that 'delays are expected.' 'The situation is improving but still requires traffic regulation,' the DGAC said. The authority blamed an air traffic control 'malfunction.' An airport source said there had been a 'radar failure.' Flights to European and North Africa destinations and across France were among those hit. Long queues formed at terminals amid a frenzied rush to find alternative transport. 'We were in the aircraft, all seated and strapped in, ready to go, when they made us disembark and collect our bags ... then began the ordeal,' said Azgal Abichou, a 63-year-old business owner. 'The only option is a 300 euro flight — and there's only one seat left, but there are two of us and we are not even sure it will take off,' said Romane Penault, a 22-year-old student. 'So for now, we're going home.' Agnes Zilouri, 46, tried desperately to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six year old son in the terminal. The family should have taken a flight to Oujda in Morocco on Sunday evening to go to a funeral. 'The flight is canceled. Fortunately I am with my mother,' she said. Last year Orly handled about 33 million passengers, approximately half the number of the main Paris Charles de Gaulle international airport.
Al-Ahram Weekly
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Book Review: The Shell dissects political prisons in Syria - Reviews
The Shell is the debut novel of Syrian author and former political prisoner Mustafa Khalifa. It is arguably one of the most famous works of prison literature to emerge from the Middle East since the turn of the century. The story revolves around an unnamed young man who assumed he was safe enough to criticize Syria's regime while in Paris. His assumption cost him 13 years of pre-trial detention. The memoir-style novel was not produced as usual with paper or ink, as those materials are inaccessible in prison. Instead, the narrator emphasizes from the outset that his fellow political prisoners instructed him to compose in his mind or to turn his mind into a recording device. Although no time frame is given, the strong anti-Islamist sentiment and publishing date suggest the story relates to the explosive 1980s conflict between the Syrian state and Islamist groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. The novel opens with a farewell at Paris' Orly Airport between the Syrian Christian protagonist and his girlfriend, Suzanne. She urges him not to leave for Syria, but he is attached to his homeland. As a director, he has several cinematic projects planned in Syria that he cannot pursue in France, where he would be treated as a refugee. He remains unaware that a Syrian informant in Paris had informed a security agency of his criticism of the regime and its ruler. Upon his arrival at Damascus Airport, Syrian security forces detain him immediately. He experiences a classic "welcome party" at the first security station, location unknown. State security officers twist his body, cram it into a tyre, and rain lashes on his bare feet in sync with enquiries about his alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. He repeats that he's Christian, even declaring he is an atheist, but to no avail. Afterwards, he is thrown into a 25-square-metre cell housing 86 inmates, where they are forbidden to lift their heads, speak, or even pray. They can barely afford to whisper. He encountered inmates of varying ages, some as young as twelve or thirteen. They slept in shifts, with each prisoner's head positioned at the feet of another. Still in disbelief and convinced that his imprisonment is a mistake, the protagonist keeps insisting that he is a Christian, an atheist. However, his attempt to exonerate himself backfires. His captors remain unconvinced, and his fellow prisoners shun him for being an unbeliever, an infidel. A new phase commenced when the narrator was transferred to Desert Prison (i.e., Tadmur Prison), where he languished for twelve years. Tadmur was known as the most brutal of all of Syria's prisons and was notorious throughout the region. On 27 June 1980, former president Hafez Al-Assad's brother, Rifaat, ordered the execution of 1,000 inmates as retaliation for an attempted assassination of Hafez by an Islamist organization. This incident was widely known as the Tadmur prison massacre. Upon arriving at Tadmur, the protagonist found that the prison guards were the scum of the army, prosecuted for offences like rape, theft, and desertion from military service. They served their sentences in this political prison, where torturing inmates was one of their primary duties. The protagonist took pride in retaining his wristwatch, which went unnoticed by his jailers during the rigorous inspections that all prisoners faced. During the Tadmur prison 'welcome party," three inmates were killed, and another ten subsequently met the same fate. Additionally, two were left permanently paralyzed, and one was blinded, all from a total of ninety-one prisoners in the protagonist's group. There, he also met a group called the Feda'yeen. While the term usually refers to freedom fighters, it took on a different meaning within prisons. The Feda'yeen was a group of well-built inmates who carried food to the ward and volunteered to be whipped (five hundred lashes) instead of fellow inmates in the hope of being martyred under torture and entering paradise. Although the narrator did not profess to be either a Christian or an atheist in the Desert Prison, this information spread, and he was ostracized. His fellow inmates were about to assault him when a revered sheikh intervened and took him under his wing. The protagonist felt trapped in a double-walled shell: the first wall was the hatred the inmates bore against him, and the second was his fear of them. Every Monday and Thursday, helicopters land, and military court members conduct summary trials and executions in which inmates are either hanged or shot. Any other form of address to the prison guards except 'my master' is one they consider an insult. He learnt that, during torture, he must keep his mind away from the number of lashes in order not to be weakened—physically and psychologically—and retain memories dear to him. The narrator mentions that a brilliant geology professor, imprisoned upon his return from the US, was so maddened by the torture he'd huddle into a blanket all year round. After six months as a pariah, the narrator felt his tongue grow heavy with disuse and decided to speak loudly. Once the guard violently closed the door, a piece of the cement wall fell in front of his bed, forming a hole. Often, he'd use it to peek into the prison yard, wrapped within a blanket in imitation of the maddened professor, so as not to draw attention to himself. The protagonist donated his valuable wristwatch for its needles to be used in an urgent appendicitis surgery for an inmate with whom he shared a cell. Consequently, the other inmates started to hold him in high regard. Slowly, the protagonist even acquired a friend. Knowing that a fellow inmate, Nessim, was a French university graduate like himself, he initiated a conversation with him, which evolved into a close bond. Nessim, a medical doctor, was very clever with his hands. He used to make chess sets with available materials. However, that friendship quickly ended. During a fit of agitation, Nessim attacked the guards, who retaliated by regularly sedating him. Nessim became little more than a shell, eyes vacant and life extinguished. The military prison complex in Syria was so corrupt that inmates were surprised to be allowed visitation rights with their relatives suddenly. However, their initial surprise faded when they discovered that the prison warden's mother would demand gifts—a kilogram of gold—for her son to permit a visit. On leaving the prison, the warden's mother had accumulated 665 kilograms of gold. One day, the narrator heard the guards repeatedly calling his name, which shocked him. He had not heard it in over twelve years. He was transferred from Tadmur to several security agency headquarters, where his treatment was more bearable. Afterwards, he discovered that his communist uncle had become a minister and was working to release him. His release, however, was contingent upon writing a letter thanking the president for forgiving him. While he adamantly refused, his brother signed the letter in his stead. Throughout the novel, the narrator intersperses his daily prison life with daydreams and reminisces about his old memories in Paris, particularly those involving women. Following his release, he spends his days sleeping, drinking, watching films, and refusing to work or marry. Entirely unable to adapt to life outside prison, he built himself a second cell, a shell that he had no desire to peep out of. While Mustafa Khalifa is the novel's central character, he focused the narrative on another Christian political prisoner. This decision was made to steer the story away from being autobiographical and to tell it from the viewpoint of someone who is an outcast. As a result, the novel gains a powerful dramatic dimension. The novel is heart-wrenching and captivating in equal measure. It is hard to believe this was Khalifa's first work, having only authored another novel called The Dance of Graves. Short link:
