![Face à l'accumulation des dossiers et à cause d'un sous-effectif chronique, des personnes accusées d'avoir commis les crimes les plus graves seront libérées de prison en 2026 avant d'avoir été jugées. [ARNAUD FINISTRE / AFP]](/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=640,height=640,format=webp/https://storage.googleapis.com/uploads.mongoosehq.com/url/media/93848834/a19cdbd31ad6a436b9350ad1e8f0f520747016ac934c8adec6f9a001a6e0ae46)
Overview
- Aix-en-Provence prosecutor general Frank Rastoul says 19 criminal defendants will be freed in 2026 because their trials cannot be held within the legal detention deadlines.
- French law caps pretrial detention at one year before a departmental criminal court and two years before an assize court, with automatic, immediate release once those limits are reached.
- Leaders of the Paris court of appeal report 925 assize-level cases pending as of January 1, 2026, a 36% increase from a year earlier.
- Magistrates and the USM cite shortages of judges, clerks and hearing rooms plus increasingly complex digital case files as causes of the bottleneck, with rape cases heavily concentrated in departmental criminal courts.
- A new courtroom is being studied in Aix, yet senior judicial figures call for a national response with organizational and legislative reforms, saying current resources cannot meet the demand.