Works from the Louvre Museum, concerts from the Philharmonie de Paris or performances from the Paris National Opera enter the Fleury-Mérogis prison (Essonne). In digital version. In the pre-trial detention for men, in a classroom in the school center of block D1 reserved for long sentences, a large screen, a video projector, two loudspeakers and four desks with tablets have been installed. Or the equipment needed to access the virtual museum called “Micro-Folie”, 500e of its kind and the first in a prison environment.
In this largest prison in Europe, which currently has 4,350 inmates, an occupancy rate of 156%, the emergence of this cultural system, usually installed in priority neighborhoods and in the countryside, appears symbolic. “We are privileged, not many of us will be able to benefit from it. However, to have moments that allow us to separate ourselves from everyday life, that’s all we ask.”confesses Mehdi, one of the four prisoners invited, on Friday, October 4, at the inauguration of this Micro-Madness, in the presence of the choreographer Blanca Lithe president of the Public Institution of the park and the Grande Halle de La Villette, the coordinator of the system.
To access this digital museum, with almost 4,000 works (paintings, sculptures, photographs, performances, etc.) mainly from the collections of twelve national units, inmates will have to volunteer and then be selected, based on their profile and of their behavior by the prison administration. Small group sequences (of five to six people) will then be organized and supervised by school center staff or a mediator.
“A bridge to the outside”
“Prison is a deprivation of liberty, not a restriction of access to health, education, sports and culture”argues Stéphane Scotto, interregional director of prison services in Paris. “Beauty belongs to everyone”adds Marc Guillaume, prefect of the Ile-de-France region. Costing 40,000 euros, this Micro-Folie complements the cultural actions (library, artist residence) already carried out in Fleury-Mérogis for a total budget of 400,000 euros. “In this period when the computer will be taken out for public budgets, we have to move from how much it costs to why we do it”emphasizes Stéphane Scotto. “Micro-Madness is not a gadget, but a tool for reintegration and socialization. We must make the detention time useful”insists Edouard Foucaud, director of the integration and probation service of the Essonne penitentiary.
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