JUSTICE: Hundreds of protesters rallied in Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules in the Loire this Saturday against a proposed prison …
Good news for some, unacceptable for others. The announcement by the State for the construction of a new prison near Saint-Etienne, Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules, mobilized many opponents this Saturday, November 12th.
According to France 3, several hundred demonstrators gathered from 10am in this village of 1,500 inhabitants, located about twenty kilometers south-east of Saint-Etienne. Supported by their mayor, they dispute the choice of their town by the Department of Justice to implant a prison with 500 seats.
MP denounces a “denial of democracy”
The new prison to replace the prison and the center of parole La Talaudière , north-east of Saint-Etienne, opened in 1968 and housed in July, 480 prisoners for 327 places . Stop the houses are establishments that accommodate inmates awaiting trial or whose residual term not exceeding two years.
[redac] voilà une partie du terrain pressenti pour accueillir la prison à Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules pic.twitter.com/oe220qOuYk
— ACTIV Radio (@ActivRadio) November 12, 2016
But the announcement of the choice of Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules apparently took the local population by surprise, the favorite site is, until early October, a field located 5km away in Andrezieux, on the other next to the airport of Saint-Etienne.
In early November, the area MP, Paul Salen (LR), denounced, on Activ’Radio a “denial of democracy”, while expressing favorable “on the merits” to the construction of a new prison.
A petition has been launched online, which has so far collected about 2,450 signatures. Residents say they will preserve the peace of their community, their safety and that of a Seveso site being a “High Threshold site”, near the chemical plant SNF Andrézieux.
The prefecture has announced that it would invite local officials to meet the state’s services on this issue, by the end of November. The funds made available for the construction of the new prison amounted to 64.5 million euros.
