France's independent watchdog, the Contrôleure générale des lieux de privation de liberté, has raised concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding deaths in prisons and psychiatric hospitals. Dominique Simonnot, the head of the watchdog, stated that the exact number of people who die in these facilities is "neither fully known nor made public," due to poor record-keeping and reporting. According to Simonnot, several hundred people die each year in places of restricted freedom, but the precise number remains unclear. In two reports published in the Journal officiel, the watchdog highlighted serious issues in preventing and managing these deaths. Simonnot called for systematic analysis and public disclosure of data on these deaths by relevant government ministries. The lack of transparency is partly due to the Ministry of Health's inability to provide the number of patients who died during or after hospitalization without their consent. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice reported 275 deaths in custody in 2025, though it did not specify how many were women or minors. More than half of these deaths were due to suicide, with the suicide rate in French prisons being among the highest in Europe. According to the Council of Europe’s Space study, the suicide rate in French prisons is 19.4 per 10,000 inmates, compared to a European average of 7.3. The rate has remained stable for 15 years, but it slightly decreased in 2024 and 2025, according to the Ministry of Justice. Between 2022 and April 2026, the watchdog noted 24 inmates killed by other inmates in overcrowded prisons. It also pointed out that access to medical care for seriously ill prisoners is inadequate, with up to a third of scheduled medical transports canceled due to a lack of escorts. In police and gendarmerie detention centers, the Ministry of the Interior reported 14 deaths in 2024, compared to four in 2023, with no deaths recorded between January and August 2025. In psychiatric hospitals, the report found that some patients die in isolation or while restrained, sometimes without proper supervision or documentation. Two cases were highlighted where no autopsies were conducted despite the unusual nature of the deaths. The Contrôleure générale has called for an immediate end to the practice of restraining patients, urging the government to act before the proposed 2030 deadline. The General Directorate of Penitentiary Administration is currently reviewing suicide risk in prisons and will issue recommendations, though no timeline has been given for their release. The watchdog’s findings underscore the urgent need for improved transparency, accountability, and care in France’s correctional and psychiatric facilities.