The Genesis and Structure of Political Conflicts about the Rights of Prisoners in Contemporary France

During the 1970s and the 2000s, movements demanding the recognition of prisoners’ rights and the supervision of those rights via independent institutions came into prominence. This article describes the structure of the political conflicts linked with the fight for the recognition of those rights. Both the activists and the organizations devoted to the protection of human rights have demanded the creation of a common core of rights for all prisoners, whereas prison administrations have implemented measures meant to foster the legitimacy of using law inside the prison while modulating its application in accordance with each regime of detention. The conflicts brought in by these two opposed approaches have often led to litigation before the Court.