France plans to build a maximum-security prison for drug traffickers and radical Islamists in its overseas territory of French Guiana, sparking an outcry among local officials.
In the remote town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a new chapter in France’s penal history is being written. A high-security wing, part of a $450 million prison complex expected to open by 2028, will house 45 high-level drug criminals and 15 terrorists. The prison will hold a total of 500 inmates.
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin says the facility – built in response to a string of violent attacks on prisons across France – is designed to sever any contact these criminals may have with their networks on the outside.
The project marks a significant return to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni’s dark legacy. In the 1800s, under Napoleon III, prisoners were shipped to the region, including some bound for the infamous Devil’s Island penal colony. The island is known for holding French army officer Alfred Dreyfus, who was wrongly accused of being a spy.
Devil’s Island later gained literary fame through Henri Charrière’s memoir Papillon, which recounts his harrowing escape. The book was adapted into a 1973 Hollywood film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, and again in a 2017 remake.
&uuid=(email))