France jails 217 people after fast-track riot trials

French courts have jailed 217 people after convicting them in fast-track trials linked to last weekend’s rioting, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said Thursday.

Darmanin said 2,700 people had been detained since Saturday and more than 1,000 had appeared in court. He said the number jailed was continuing to rise and that half of the 217 had no criminal record.

“In general these are men aged between 18 to 25,” Darmanin told reporters outside Fleury-Merogis prison on the outskirts of Paris. He said the figures showed that prosecutors and judges were applying an “extremely firm” response.

Darmanin has promised expedited trials to clear the backlog of cases and deter further unrest. New protests over grievances including the rising cost of living are planned this weekend.

Some lawyers have criticised the judiciary for moving toward repression. Darmanin said the solution to prison overcrowding was not “to imprison fewer people, but to create more space in prison”.

Ministry statistics showed 90,020 inmates in French prisons as of September 1, above capacity of 63,348 places and a new record.