France to build €400m high-security prison in Amazon jungle to isolate drug lords and extremists

France will open a new high-security prison deep in the Amazon jungle of French Guiana, aimed at detaining drug traffickers and radicalised inmates.

The €400 million facility, announced by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, will be located in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and could open by 2028.

Darmanin said the prison is designed to “incapacitate the most dangerous drug traffickers” at the source of the supply chain and sever their links with criminal networks in mainland France. The site will include a strict regime and a special wing for high-risk prisoners.

The decision follows recent violent incidents linked to gang activity across France, including attacks on prisons. Officials say the remote location will help prevent inmates from maintaining contact with outside networks, a persistent issue in French jails.

French Guiana, a French overseas region on the northeastern coast of South America, is a known route for drug mules traveling from Brazil and Suriname. The new prison is part of broader efforts by France to tighten its grip on organised crime, including new legislation and expanded prosecutorial powers.

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, the chosen location for the prison, is the second-largest city in French Guiana with over 50,000 residents. France has a long history of using this area as a remote prison site. From 1858 until 1946, it served as the main arrival point for prisoners sent to the notorious Devil’s Island penal colony, known for its harsh conditions and isolation deep in the jungle. The town was established around this prison complex, designed to keep inmates cut off from the outside world. The dense Amazon rainforest and the Maroni River acted as natural barriers to escape, making it extremely difficult for prisoners to flee or maintain contact with criminal networks. This legacy of incarceration and isolation continues to influence why the new high-security prison is planned for this location.

However, the announcement of the prison’s high-security wing, which will include 60 spaces—15 reserved for Islamic militants—has sparked strong opposition in French Guiana. The wing is part of the larger €400 million project originally announced in 2017, aiming to hold 500 inmates.

Residents and local officials, including Jean-Paul Fereira, acting president of French Guiana’s territorial collective, expressed outrage that the plans were revealed without prior consultation. Fereira described the move as disrespectful and insulting, highlighting that the original 2017 agreement focused on reducing overcrowding rather than housing radicalized individuals from mainland France.

Jean-Victor Castor, a local member of parliament, called the decision “an insult to our history, a political provocation and a colonial regression,” demanding France withdraw the project. French Guiana’s history as a penal colony—once holding political prisoners such as Alfred Dreyfus on Devil’s Island—adds weight to the local resistance against turning the region again into a site for high-security detention.

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