The Seine-Saint-Denis bar association has denounced the “undignified” conditions in which 17 minors spent the night in the detention facility of the Bobigny judicial court, prompting the local prosecutor to acknowledge that the reception was not “acceptable.”
Lawyers Sound the Alarm After Early Morning Visit
Four members of the bar association’s council, delegated by the head of the bar, Sandrine Beressi, visited the facility before 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Their report described dirty and cold cells, a lack of mattresses, the use of survival blankets, and urine bottles left behind by previous occupants.
“Firmness cannot justify depriving children of their dignity,” the bar association stated, emphasizing that the minors had been arrested in connection with the high school protest movement or weekend looting.
Prosecutor Admits Failings and Announces Measures
In a statement issued in the evening after a meeting with the bar association, Bobigny prosecutor Alexandre de Bosschère admitted that “these minors could not be received during the night at the Bobigny detention facility in acceptable conditions.”
The prosecutor committed to ensuring that “nighttime presentations of minors are strictly limited to exceptional situations, as provided for in the commitment made in 2025.” He also announced that the nighttime use of individual cells intended for minors—deemed “too small for this purpose”—is now prohibited.
A History of Scandal at the Facility
The dilapidated state of the detention facility, located in the basement of the courthouse, is well known. Construction of new premises is scheduled to begin in November as part of the court’s extension.
A year ago, the same facility was at the center of a major scandal when a young woman accused two police officers of raping her there at night. The Paris prosecutor confirmed the existence of a video showing a sexual act, which was among the elements corroborating the complainant’s statements. The two officers were indicted and imprisoned on November 1, 2025, for rape and sexual assault by a person abusing the authority conferred by their duties.
Following that case, “the prosecutor’s office had committed to ensuring that no minor would spend the night there, except in exceptional circumstances,” the bar association recalled on Wednesday.
Numerous Shortcomings Documented
The lawyers’ report detailed multiple failures:
- No mattresses for any of the minors, even though collective cells were empty
- Cold conditions, with at least three minors shivering and survival blankets as the only equipment
- Dirty cells with waste and urine bottles left by previous occupants
- Benches too short to lie down on for some of the taller teenagers
Photographs were attached to the report, which is available online. In cell 27, two minors appeared lying side by side on the floor of a narrow tiled cell. “Two survival blankets are available, both indicate they have eaten sandwiches, no hygiene kit was offered, one has seen a doctor,” the report noted.
The prosecutor later stated that “the photographs showing two minors lying in an individual cell were taken after the start of morning cleaning operations, which require police officers to group together the persons being brought before the court.”
Protest Outside the Courthouse
Some 200 demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse late in the morning, chanting “free our students” to denounce the arrests of around twenty minors.
The bar association described the situation as “the direct consequence” of an October 2 circular sent by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin to prosecutors, calling for a “firm and rapid penal response.”
Prosecutor de Bosschère argued that “the nighttime presentation of 17 minors at the detention facility, a highly exceptional figure, is explained by the involvement of 14 of them in a single procedure for aggravated theft at a shop in Saint-Denis,” justifying in-depth investigations and their bringing before the court.
Lawyer Elsa Marcel, representing “high school students in custody since Sunday” and a spokesperson for the far-left organization Révolution permanente, welcomed on Instagram the release of “all” the minors: “They locked up so many young people in that facility that in the end… they couldn’t manage to bring them before a judge within the legal deadlines, so they all came out at the same time.”
