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France · Île-de-France · Paris

Maison d'arrêt de la Santé

Maison d'arrêtHighmaleOvercrowded (111%)ModerateHigh
Verified · Data dated
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Maison d'arrêt de la Santé

Step-by-step guidance using the France system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit
Photograph of Maison d'arrêt de la Santé

Gallery

From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).

  • 190901 Des Camelots du Roi dont Maxime Real del Sarte et Marius Plateau sont emprisonnés à la Santé.jpg

    Photo by Unknown authorUnknown author via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 19090626 Caricature sur les Camelots du Roi dans Le Rire.jpg

    Photo by Le Rire via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 19110714 Lucien Lacour et Gustave Hervé emprisonnés à la prison de la Santé (cropped).jpg

    Photo by Central-Photos via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 19110714 Lucien Lacour et Gustave Hervé emprisonnés à la prison de la Santé.png

    Photo by Central-Photos via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 19270626 Caricature de l'évasion de Léon Daudet dans Le Peuple.jpg

    Photo by UnknownUnknown via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 19270626 Le directeur de la Santé est suspendu après l'évasion de Léon Daudet, Joseph Delest et Pierre Semard.jpg

    Photo by Excelsior via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

  • 1937 Charles Maurras libéré de prison le 6 juillet 1937 dans La Belle France.jpg

    Photo by UnknownUnknown via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • 19370706 Charles Maurras libéré de prison dans Paris-Midi.jpg

    Photo by UnknownUnknown via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Paris's only prison within the city limits. Renovated 2014-2019. Three quarters: maison d'arrêt, semi-liberté, and the historic VIP section.

Capacity

808

Current population

900

Occupancy

111%

Year opened

1867

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

1867

Region

Île-de-France

Security level

High

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

Renovated 2014-2019. Now operating above design capacity again as of 2024.

Visiting

Permis de visite required. Visits 30-60 minutes; specific high-security visiting room for VIP/sensitive cases.

Mailing

Format: Nom Prénom n° d'écrou, Maison d'arrêt de la Santé, 42 rue de la Santé, 75674 Paris Cedex 14.

Practical info

Family visit reservations via internet portal Cap Justice.

Known issues

Pre-renovation conditions described in Véronique Vasseur's bestselling 2000 memoir prompted national reform debate.

Notable inmates

Showing 9 of 12. Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

42 rue de la Santé, Paris 75674
+33 1 45 88 23 00
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

16/100
Moderate concern16/100
Overcrowding
5/30
Oversight reports
6/30
Structural flags
5/15
Death signals
0/15
Conditions text
0/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · Operating at 111% of design capacity
  • · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
  • · Substantial documented known-issues record

This facility scores 16. The national average across 732 scored France facilities is 12 — 4 points above national average.

Trend over time

Population and occupancy by year. Source: official corrections statistics + oversight reports.

Population held

2020: 750+20.0%2024: 900

Occupancy %

2020: 93.0%+19.4%2024: 111.0%

Related facilities

All in France →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Compared to other facilities in France

731 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 16/100 · peers avg: 12/100 (+29%)

Higher risk than 60% of peer facilities in France.

Occupancythis: 111% · peers avg: 139% (20%)
Capacity (beds)this: 808 · peers avg: 343 (+136%)

Reports

  • Contrôleur général des lieux de privation de liberté12 Mar 2024

    CGLPL noted that post-renovation occupancy at La Santé has returned above design capacity, with informal mattresses in some maison d'arrêt cells.

    source

Data completeness

100%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). Maison d'arrêt de la Santé. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/la-sante
Chicago
"Maison d'arrêt de la Santé." World Prisons. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/la-sante.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-la-sante,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Maison d'arrêt de la Santé},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/la-sante},
  urldate = {2026-10-15}
}