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France · Grand Est · Ville-sous-la-Ferté

Maison centrale de Clairvaux

Maison centraleMaximummaleClosed 2023LowHigh
Verified
Aging · 4mo ago
Sources last reviewed on

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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 centrale de Clairvaux

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 centrale de Clairvaux

Gallery

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

  • Abbaye de Clairvaux (6).JPG

    Photo by Prosopee via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

  • Abbey of Clairvaux.jpg

    Photo by Thomas Salva, Lumento via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

  • Clairvaux P2140167.jpg

    Photo by David.Monniaux via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Clairvaux P2140171.jpg

    Photo by David.Monniaux via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Clairvaux P2140179.jpg

    Photo by David.Monniaux via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Clairvaux P2140180.jpg

    Photo by David.Monniaux via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Clairvaux P2140181.jpg

    Photo by David.Monniaux via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Clairvaux P2140184.jpg

    Photo by David.Monniaux via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Founded by Napoleon on the site of the former Cistercian abbey. Closed in 2023 after 215 years of operation.

Background

Clairvaux Prison was a high-security prison in France, on the grounds of the former Clairvaux Abbey.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

80

Current population

—

Occupancy

—

Year opened

1808

Closed 2023

Figures from official sources · verified 9 Jul 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

1808

Region

Grand Est

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

(selon le CGLPL) Rapport de visite du centre pénitentiaire de Clairvaux (Aube). Date(s) de visite : Du 31/08/2009 au 03/09/2009.

Visiting

No visiting information available.

Mailing

No mailing information available.

Practical info

Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.

Known issues

No major issues documented in our database.

Notable inmates

  • Roger Schandalow
    1915–2002 · clerk
  • Jean-Paul Carrier
    1917–2000 · politician
  • Pierre-Antoine Cousteau
    1906–1958 · journalist

    Pierre-Antoine Cousteau (French: [kusto]; 18 March 1906 – 17 December 1958) was a French journalist, polemicist, and Axis collaborationist.

  • Carlos the Jackal
    Carlos the Jackal
    1949 · military personnel

    Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (Spanish: [iˈlitʃ raˈmiɾes ˈsantʃes]; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal (Spanish: Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convict who conducted a series of assassinations and terrorist bombings from 1973 to 1985.

  • Corentin Celton
    Corentin Celton
    1901–1943 · French resistance fighter

Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

10310 Ville-sous-la-Ferté, Ville-sous-la-Ferté 10310
+33 3 25 27 21 31
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

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

0/100
Low concern0/100
Overcrowding
0/30
Oversight reports
0/30
Structural flags
0/15
Death signals
0/15
Conditions text
0/10

This facility scores 0. The national average across 732 scored France facilities is 12 — 12 points below national average.

Related facilities

All in France →

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

Compared to other facilities in France

731 peers
Capacity (beds)this: 80 · peers avg: 345 (77%)

Data completeness

78%

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 centrale de Clairvaux. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/maison-centrale-de-clairvaux
Chicago
"Maison centrale de Clairvaux." World Prisons. Accessed October 23, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/maison-centrale-de-clairvaux.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-maison-centrale-de-clairvau,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Maison centrale de Clairvaux},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/maison-centrale-de-clairvaux},
  urldate = {2026-10-23}
}