Latest news with #Papillon
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France's plan to build a maximum security prison wing in French Guiana angers local officials
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — France plans to build a maximum-security prison wing for drug traffickers and Islamic militants near a former penal colony in French Guiana, sparking an outcry among residents and local officials. The wing would form part of a $450 million prison announced in 2017 that is expected to be completed by 2028 and hold 500 inmates. The prison would be built in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a town bordering Suriname that once received prisoners shipped by Napoleon III in the 1800s, some of whom were sent to the notorious Devil's Island off the coast of French Guiana. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced plans to build the high-security wing during an official visit to French Guiana on Saturday. He said in a Facebook post that 15 of the wing's 60 spaces would be reserved for Islamic militants. Darmanin was quoted by Le Journal du Dimanche, a French weekly newspaper, as saying that the prison also aims to keep suspected drug traffickers from having any contact with their criminal networks. 'We are seeing more and more drug trafficking networks,' he told reporters in French Guiana. 'We must react.' The announcement angered many across French Guiana, an overseas French department located in South America. It was once an infamous colony known for holding French political prisoners, including Army Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, who was accused of being a spy. Dreyfus was incarcerated on Devil's Island, a penal colony that operated for a century and was featured in the best-selling French novel 'Papillon,' which later was made into two movies. Jean-Paul Fereira, acting president of French Guiana's territorial collective, an assembly of 51 lawmakers that oversees local government affairs, said they were taken aback by the announcement since the plan to build a high-security wing was never discussed with them ahead of time. 'It is therefore with astonishment and indignation that the elected members of the Collectivity discovered, together with the entire population of Guiana, the information detailed in Le Journal Du Dimanche,' he wrote in a statement posted Sunday on social media. Fereira said the move was disrespectful and insulting, noting that the agreement French Guiana signed in 2017 was for the construction of a new prison meant to alleviate overpopulation at the main prison. 'While all local elected officials have long been calling for strong measures to curb the rise of organized crime in our territory, Guiana is not meant to welcome criminals and radicalized people from (mainland France),' he wrote. Also decrying the plan was Jean-Victor Castor, a member of Parliament in French Guiana. He said he wrote directly to France's prime minister to express his concerns, noting that the decision was taken without consulting local officials. 'It's an insult to our history, a political provocation and a colonial regression,' Castor wrote in a statement issued Sunday as he called on France to withdraw the project. A spokesperson for France's justice minister did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Hamilton Spectator
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
France's plan to build a maximum security prison wing in French Guiana angers local officials
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — France plans to build a maximum-security prison wing for drug traffickers and Islamic militants near a former penal colony in French Guiana, sparking an outcry among residents and local officials. The wing would form part of a $450 million prison announced in 2017 that is expected to be completed by 2028 and hold 500 inmates. The prison would be built in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a town bordering Suriname that once received prisoners shipped by Napoleon III in the 1800s, some of whom were sent to the notorious Devil's Island off the coast of French Guiana. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced plans to build the high-security wing during an official visit to French Guiana on Saturday. He said in a Facebook post that 15 of the wing's 60 spaces would be reserved for Islamic militants. Darmanin was quoted by Le Journal du Dimanche, a French weekly newspaper, as saying that the prison also aims to keep suspected drug traffickers from having any contact with their criminal networks. 'We are seeing more and more drug trafficking networks,' he told reporters in French Guiana. 'We must react.' The announcement angered many across French Guiana, an overseas French department located in South America. It was once an infamous colony known for holding French political prisoners, including Army Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, who was accused of being a spy. Dreyfus was incarcerated on Devil's Island, a penal colony that operated for a century and was featured in the best-selling French novel 'Papillon,' which later was made into two movies. Jean-Paul Fereira, acting president of French Guiana's territorial collective, an assembly of 51 lawmakers that oversees local government affairs, said they were taken aback by the announcement since the plan to build a high-security wing was never discussed with them ahead of time. 'It is therefore with astonishment and indignation that the elected members of the Collectivity discovered, together with the entire population of Guiana, the information detailed in Le Journal Du Dimanche,' he wrote in a statement posted Sunday on social media. Fereira said the move was disrespectful and insulting, noting that the agreement French Guiana signed in 2017 was for the construction of a new prison meant to alleviate overpopulation at the main prison. 'While all local elected officials have long been calling for strong measures to curb the rise of organized crime in our territory, Guiana is not meant to welcome criminals and radicalized people from (mainland France),' he wrote. Also decrying the plan was Jean-Victor Castor, a member of Parliament in French Guiana. He said he wrote directly to France's prime minister to express his concerns, noting that the decision was taken without consulting local officials. 'It's an insult to our history, a political provocation and a colonial regression,' Castor wrote in a statement issued Sunday as he called on France to withdraw the project. A spokesperson for France's justice minister did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Winnipeg Free Press
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
France's plan to build a maximum security prison wing in French Guiana angers local officials
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — France plans to build a maximum-security prison wing for drug traffickers and Islamic militants near a former penal colony in French Guiana, sparking an outcry among residents and local officials. The wing would form part of a $450 million prison announced in 2017 that is expected to be completed by 2028 and hold 500 inmates. The prison would be built in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a town bordering Suriname that once received prisoners shipped by Napoleon III in the 1800s, some of whom were sent to the notorious Devil's Island off the coast of French Guiana. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced plans to build the high-security wing during an official visit to French Guiana on Saturday. He said in a Facebook post that 15 of the wing's 60 spaces would be reserved for Islamic militants. Darmanin was quoted by Le Journal du Dimanche, a French weekly newspaper, as saying that the prison also aims to keep suspected drug traffickers from having any contact with their criminal networks. 'We are seeing more and more drug trafficking networks,' he told reporters in French Guiana. 'We must react.' The announcement angered many across French Guiana, an overseas French department located in South America. It was once an infamous colony known for holding French political prisoners, including Army Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, who was accused of being a spy. Dreyfus was incarcerated on Devil's Island, a penal colony that operated for a century and was featured in the best-selling French novel 'Papillon,' which later was made into two movies. Jean-Paul Fereira, acting president of French Guiana's territorial collective, an assembly of 51 lawmakers that oversees local government affairs, said they were taken aback by the announcement since the plan to build a high-security wing was never discussed with them ahead of time. 'It is therefore with astonishment and indignation that the elected members of the Collectivity discovered, together with the entire population of Guiana, the information detailed in Le Journal Du Dimanche,' he wrote in a statement posted Sunday on social media. Fereira said the move was disrespectful and insulting, noting that the agreement French Guiana signed in 2017 was for the construction of a new prison meant to alleviate overpopulation at the main prison. 'While all local elected officials have long been calling for strong measures to curb the rise of organized crime in our territory, Guiana is not meant to welcome criminals and radicalized people from (mainland France),' he wrote. Also decrying the plan was Jean-Victor Castor, a member of Parliament in French Guiana. He said he wrote directly to France's prime minister to express his concerns, noting that the decision was taken without consulting local officials. 'It's an insult to our history, a political provocation and a colonial regression,' Castor wrote in a statement issued Sunday as he called on France to withdraw the project. A spokesperson for France's justice minister did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Euronews
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
France to build high-security jail in Amazon to house drug traffickers
France plans to build a high-security prison in the Amazon as part of its crackdown on serious drug offenders. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced the proposal during a visit to French Guiana — an overseas territory in South America which borders Brazil and Suriname — at the weekend. The scheme would see a 500-bed prison built in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, an area of French Guiana, with space to house 60 high-level drug criminals and 15 terrorists, Darmanin said. A courthouse will also be built at the Ministry of Justice site, which could open as early as 2028 and which is due to cost €400 million, he explained. The facility will be constructed close to a notorious penal colony known as the Devil's Island that France operated until the 1950s. The penal colony, which was renowned for its short life expectancy, was used as the setting for the novel "Papillon", which later became a Hollywood film starring Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen. The minister told the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) that the purpose of the prison is "to put the most dangerous drug traffickers out of action." As well as targeting the drug trade in the territory, Darmanin also said that it would help to ease prison overcrowding. Darmanin has made the fight against drug trafficking one of his highest priorities. By this summer, he wants to isolate his country's top 100 drug traffickers from their criminal networks. Under this plan, prisoners will be transferred to two high-security prisons at Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais) and Condé-sur-Sarthe (Orne) in mainland France. Speaking to the French newspaper Le Monde in January, Darmanin explained his reasoning. "What is unbearable is that prisons are no longer obstacles for most narco-traffickers to continue their trafficking, or to assassinate or to threaten magistrates, prison officers, journalists or lawyers," he said. The third high-security prison in his anti-drugs plan will be the one in French Guiana. Romania's foreign, interior and defence ministries have denounced what they called "Russian interference" in Sunday's presidential runoff. In a joint statement issued in the closing hours of voting, they warned Romanians about an alleged fake news campaign that had been rolled out on Telegram, TikTok and across other social media platforms. Spokesperson for the department for communication and public diplomacy at the foreign ministry, Andrei Tarnea, said in a post on X that "once again we see the distinctive signs of Russian interference … to influence the electoral process." "This was expected," he added. In a coordinated move, the three ministries pointed to a falsified video that was published on Sunday that falsely claimed that French troops stationed in Romania had been dressed in Romanian gendarmerie uniforms to interfere in the country's election. "The author of the post claims, without providing any proof, that the French soldiers stationed in Romania as part of the NATO Battle Group deployed in Cincu would be prepared to act, clandestinely equipped in Romanian Gendarmerie uniforms, to start a civil war in our country, at the end of the electoral process, in the event that a particular candidate is declared the winner," the defence ministry explained. The ministry went on to dismiss the information as false but said it had the potential to create confusion among Romanian citizens. "The material posted is dangerous disinformation, without any real basis or concrete evidence. It is a clear example of manipulation by spreading conspiracy theories that instil distrust in state institutions, international partners and the democratic process," the defence ministry added. The three ministries claimed that they had found a direct link between the video and Moscow but gave no further details at this time. Meanwhile, the Kremlin responded by slamming Bucharest. First, presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that the elections were 'at least strange'. Then, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova entered the fray, stating in a Telegram post: "First of all, I would ask you not to call this an election. Secondly, it is impossible to get involved in this, you can only get into trouble.' Meanwhile, Pavel Durov, the founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, claimed in a post on X that he had been approached by the head of French intelligence and asked to block conservative voices on the app in Romania. "This spring, at the Salon des Batailles in the Hôtel de Crillon, Nicolas Lerner, the head of the French intelligence, asked me to ban conservative voices in Romania before the elections. I refused," he wrote. "We didn't block protesters in Russia, Belarus or Iran. We won't start doing it in Europe." France's Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) said in a statement that its officials have met with Durov several times over the years "to firmly remind him of his company's and his personal responsibilities in preventing terrorist threats and child pornography." However, the agency "strongly rejects allegations that on these occasions requests were made to ban accounts related to any electoral process." Durov's accusation was echoed on X by the app's owner Elon Musk who wrote, "Wow". But later on Sunday, Durov reposted the allegations but in his new post removed references to France and Lerner but provided no explanation about why he had revised his statement. French authorities arrested Durov, a Russian multi-billionaire who holds other nationalities, including French, in Paris in late August 2024 as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions linked to Telegram. He has since been released from custody. In September 2024, he criticised the French authorities' investigation and promised to step up efforts to fight criminality on the messaging app.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France planning Supermax-style prison near notorious Devil's Island penal colony site
France is planning to build a brand new high-security prison in the Amazon rainforest, near the site of the notorious Devil's Island penal colony that inspired the 1973 movie 'Papillon,' starring Steve McQueen. Speaking on Sunday during a visit to French Guiana, a French territory that borders Suriname and Brazil, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said the facility would house drug kingpins and radical Islamists. The prison will be built in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, on French Guiana's border with Suriname, with space for 500 inmates, including 60 maximum-security prisoners. Speaking to journalists, Darmanin said the new jail would help to ease prison overcrowding in French Guiana, as well as responding to the growing threat of drug trafficking in the territory. French Guiana is a major transit point for South American cocaine on its way to markets in Europe, he said. Conflicts between organized criminal gangs mean the territory has a homicide rate of 18.4 per 100,000 people, compared with 1.2 per 100,000 in mainland France, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. 'Citizens in overseas territories must be able to have the same level of security as those in mainland France,' Darmanin said. According to the minister, high-ranking criminals are able to use their illicit earnings to corrupt officials, and some are able to continue to run their operations from inside prison.. There are already 49 high-level drug traffickers in custody in French Guiana and other French overseas territories, Darmanin said, adding that these 'extremely dangerous' prisoners are not being kept in adequately secure conditions. The complex, which will also house a court, will cost a total 400 million euros ($451 million), Darmanin said in a post on Facebook on Sunday. For some, the announcement of the planned facility brought back chilling memories of the penal colony of Cayenne, commonly known as Devil's Island, which housed French prisoners until 1953. Devil's Island became infamous for its inhumane conditions, to the extent that it lent its name to a 1939 film starring Boris Karloff, as well as inspiring the novel 'Papillon,' which was subsequently made into two movies. CNN has contacted the French Ministry of Justice for comment.
