Overview

• Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin officially sent a four-page reform plan to all magistrates on May 12, 2025, outlining measures to address systemic delays, overcrowded prisons, and procedural inefficiencies.
• Proposed changes include reducing over 200 penalties in the Penal Code to four core categories—imprisonment, probation, fines, and orders of interdiction or obligation—eliminating suspended sentences.
• Darmanin plans to extend the 'plaider-coupable' procedure to crimes, aiming to expedite trials and reduce backlogs in assize courts.
• The reform includes constructing modular prisons inspired by German models and thematic facilities to manage overcrowding and differentiate inmates by risk level, with the first modular prison slated for completion in late 2026 near Troyes.
• Magistrates’ unions and oversight bodies warn that without additional staffing and funding, the proposed measures will fail to alleviate the strain on courts and prisons.