Two inmates at a prison in Dijon sawed their way through the bars of their cell window and then hoisted themselves to the ground using sheets.
The escape was discovered on Thursday morning and the two, a 19-year-old and a 32-year-old, were still at large that evening. Their escape has put the spotlight on the severe overcrowding in French prisons, which are among the highest in Europe.
On average, 135 prisoners are crowded into 100 beds, in Dijon the figure is 173 prisoners into 100 beds.
"There were three of us in each cell, two in beds and one on the floor," a man released on Thursday told AFP about the prison built in 1853.
Thursday's escape comes less than two weeks after another high-profile escape, in Rennes, where an inmate escaped during a supervised trip to a planetarium. He was arrested on Thursday in Nantes.
By then, the prison director in Rennes had already been fired by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin – who in turn is being criticized for focusing all his attention on new high-security prisons and not caring about other prisons.
"While the minister parades around overfunded facilities, others suffer," three unions for prison employees write in a joint statement.
