Prison workers assemble in protest after setting fire to objects outside of a detention center in Orleans on June 18, 2013.
Franceâ„¢s prison guards have gathered in front of more than 100 jails in protest against overcrowding and safety concerns at the countryâ„¢s correctional facilities.
The action took place on Tuesday after official figures revealed that on June 1 a record number of nearly 68,000 inmates were incarcerated, giving a overcrowding rate of 19 percent.
The Ufap-Unsa prison guards union, whose members are banned from striking, said the prison staff gathered in front of Å“more than 110 establishments including detention centers, low-security as well as high-security prisons.
They blocked deliveries and set fire to tires, wooden pallets and other objects.”
Ahead of the rally, union Secretary General Stephane Barraut said, Å“This is a shot across the bows, to make the powers be aware of the urgency of this situation.”
Å“This way, people will say to themselves, ËœWeâ„¢re really going to have to deal with the penitentiary system’,” added Barraut.
On June 14, a prison supervisor was taken hostage by an inmate in a high-security prison at Arles in southern France. The incident ended after a few hours when the prisoner convicted of murder gave himself up.
Just a day earlier, prison staff had assembled outside a prison in Fresnes, near Paris to protest against a drastic increase in violence directed towards guards by inmates.
CAH/PR
This article originally appeared on: Press TV