La Santé Prison
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high-security wings.
La Santé is one of the three main prisons of the Paris area, the Fleury-Mérogis Prison (Europe's largest prison) and the Fresnes Prison, both located in the southern suburbs, being the other two.
History
During World War II, the prison was used to hold both common criminals as well as opponents of the German occupation. On Bastille Day, 1944, as Allied forces were approaching the city, the prisoners revolted, an insurrection that was put down with great brutality and loss of life by the Vichy Milice.
The prison features a hub-and-spoke design which has been implemented in several other prisons around the world including Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 2000, the head doctor of the prison, Veronique Vasseur, published a book in which she denounced the very bad conditions of imprisonment, filth, illnesses, etc. The book was a shock to the public and prompted parliamentary evaluation of the situation.
Well-known prisoners of La Santé
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- Alén Diviš
- Paul Gorguloff Assassinated President Paul Doumer in 1932
- Jacques Fesch
- Willem Holleeder (Well known Dutch criminals)
- Jérôme Kerviel
- Arsène Lupin (Fictitious character)
- Jacques Mesrine
- Manuel Noriega (Military dictator of Panama)
- Maurice Papon
- Marcel Petiot
- Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (aka Carlos the Jackal)
- Issei Sagawa
- Victor Serge
- Bernard Tapie
- Cor van Hout
- Seth Gueko
- Mister You